Contested
by ThereseM
Summary: Sig gets tricked into allowing a contest winner on his boat, but not is all it seems. Rating for later chapters. A Deadliest Catch Fic Now Complete*
1. Chapter 1

Sig, Edgar and Norman all sat stock still staring at the girl writhing on the screen. She was dressed in a tank top, tasseled pants and a baseball hat. She yelled commands to the group of women behind her as she swiveled and wriggled through the dance moves. The pumping beat of reggaeton music surged and the group of women moved in a seamless herd at the command of the instructor.

"What the hell am I watching John?" asked Sig.

"Who cares, don't turn it off" said Edgar.

"This is your contest winner" said John.

"My what?" said Sig in disbelief.

"We talked about this last month at the 4th of July party" said John. "You agreed to allow a contest winner on your boat."

"What are you talking about. I would never agree to let a girl on the boat" said Sig.

"We talked about it at the party, it was towards the end of the night after you answered some fan questions. You said you'd be willing if it was for one trip and if you were in no way required to pay them for any of their work" explained John.

"Sig you were wasted at that party" said Norman.

"Even if I agreed to this, I would never approve a girl. No girls on the Northwestern that's our rule" said Sig.

"I didn't know we had that rule" said Edgar.

"Shut up Edgar" snapped Sig.

"Sig, the fact of the matter is that you agreed to this, we chose the winner as was our right and we've informed her. If you want to call her and tell her that you aren't willing to have her on your boat because she's a girl, then that's your prerogative, but I think it's an asshole thing to do to a very big fan" said John seriously.

"Why did you chose her?" asked Sig.

"Because she's physically fit, she's a former chef, she's a certified diver and she seemed like she wouldn't be too terrible to look at on screen" said John.

"Fine, since apparently I've already said yes. One trip and I want her to sign something that holds us completely not liable for any injury. And she has to have her own insurance" said Sig.

"No problem" said John scribbling down Sig's requests.

John stood up and went to get the video.

"Leave the tape, I want to study our newest deck hand" said Edgar with a smile.

"Fine. I'll talk to you guys later" said John.

Sig walked him to the door all but slamming it shut to prove how annoyed he was by the situation. As he walked back into the living room he saw that Edgar and Norman were watching the video in slow motion.

"Oh God, what have we gotten ourselves into" muttered Sig.

"This is completely on your shoulders, we never agreed to any of this" said Edgar.

"I honestly don't even remember having the conversation with John" admitted Sig.

"Time to stop drinking at company parties" said Norman.

"I wonder what her name is?" asked Sig. "I should certainly know who I'm going to be yelling at."

John drove back to the hotel with a ridiculously huge grin on his face. His plan had worked perfectly and had only taken a small amount of lying on his part. He thought back to how this plan had taken shape in the first place. He'd been talking to Thomas in the publicity department about the possibility of a fan contest, however they would need to completely vet the idea before actually putting a fan out on the ocean. That is how this plan was hatched, they would use one of the office staff to pose as a fan and try out how a regular person would fair on the bearing sea. John had selected the perfect phony fan, her name was Samantha and she had been his assistant for a time. She now worked cataloging the tapes sent back by the on boat producers for editing. Samantha was a great girl full of personality and John assumed that she watched a few of those tapes that she catalogued so she may very well be a fan of the show. Everything he'd told Sig was true, she was a former chef who'd worked in a well known restaurant in NYC, she was a certified diver and she was hot by anyone's standards. The next step to John's plan was telling Samantha about her new assignment, he hoped she was receptive. Thomas had said that he was worried about the guys recognizing her, so John was going to offer what he assumed would be any girls dream a makeover. He was flying back to LA tomorrow and would speak to Samantha as soon as possible. She would have just about two months to get ready for her new adventure. The possibility of Samantha saying no never even crossed his mind.

Samantha sat in John's office staring at her former boss like he'd just sprouted a second head. She could not believe the ridiculous plan that had just been laid out before her. John was still explaining how excited he was about Sig agreeing to take her on the boat.

"I don't want to go" said Samantha cutting John off mid sentence.

"What do you mean you don't want to go?" asked John in shock. "This is a chance of a lifetime, you could be the first girl to ever grace the decks of the Northwestern. You'll be making history."

"I see many problems with this plan" said Samantha. "Firstly, they have all met me before, so I seriously doubt they are going to believe that I'm a fan. Secondly, no fan would want to hurt the Northwestern's season by being inept on deck. Thirdly and most importantly I don't want to go."

"To address the first issue we are going to give you a makeover, I'd even be willing to spring for a boob job if that's what you want" said John.

Samantha looked horrified and John realized that he was probably off the hook for the plastic surgery.

"Next you won't be hindering the crew, you are a fast learner and even if you aren't the crew is there to catch the crab you are just there to observe and help if possible. As for your last concern I'm asking you to do this, we will pay you double what we pay you now for the time you are there, which is only for one trip which will probably be less than 2 weeks" finished John smugly.

"Believe it or not even after your impressive speech I still don't want to go" said Samantha.

"Samantha, I've already told them you are the winner, you have to go" said John seriously.

Samantha frowned angrily. She realized that she could fight all she wanted but she would be getting on the Northwestern if John had to drug her and toss her onto the deck himself.

"I want three times my salary" said Samantha.

"Done" said John. "Glad you changed your mind."

Samantha stared at him for a moment wondering hesitantly if she should have asked for more.

"If that's all, I'll be going" said Samantha.

"I'll send you a list of gear that you'll need and some basic rules" said John already picking up the phone.

"Fine" said Samantha.

A few days later Samantha walked into her cubicle to find a huge envelope on her desk. She opened it and saw that it was the information John had told her about. There was a two page list of stuff she needed to get for the trip on the Northwestern. She wondered if an actual contestant winner would be asked to buy all this stuff or if Discovery would provide it. Because chances are 3 pairs of raingear and 3 pairs of boots would not come cheap. Not to mention all the warm clothes Samantha would need to survive on the deck of a crab boat. She found a prepaid credit card tucked into the bottom of the envelope with a note stating she was to use this card to buy her supplies. Her airline tickets were in the envelope along with the date she would need to be at the dock. The page of rules from John slipped out next. It was a pretty formidable list. Samantha could not tell any members of the crew who she worked for, she could not wear or do anything that would give the crew reason to suspect she was anything but a contest winner and she was not to give any details about the alleged contest. The last item was simple since she had no idea how the actual contest would work, the other two would be a little harder. The next piece of paper detailed what John wanted her to do before she got to Dutch. Item one was procure all the items on the supply list, item two was to get her hair cut and colored to a very different style, item three was to immerse herself in all things Deadliest Catch in order to get some true fan knowledge and the final item was to remember that Sig is suspicious by nature, so she should be on her best "fan-like" behavior. Samantha tossed the lists aside and dropped her head into her hands, she could already see this turning into a huge disaster.

Samantha spent the weeks remaining running daily to build up her endurance, she continued teaching her aerobic classes and lifted weights to try to make herself as strong as possible before she got on the boat. Over the course of the weeks she'd managed to get stronger and was running 6 miles a day. She hoped it was enough to help her make it through the season. Samantha's bag was packed and sitting next to her door. John was coming to take her to the airport in just a few minutes. He'd insisted on taking her even over her insistence she could just hire a car. Samantha checked her list again noting with pleasure everything was checked. The knock at the door made Samantha shove the list into her backpack before answering it. John was pacing anxiously on the welcome mat when Samantha finally opened the door.

"Samantha, I thought maybe you'd pulled a runner" he said.

"I wish I would have thought about doing that" said Samantha more to herself then John.

"Yes, well where are your bags?" asked John.

"There is just the one right there and my backpack" said Samantha pointing to the bags next to the door.

"That's all your taking? That's amazing, Sig will be so thrilled" said John.

"Yes, well I'm a very good packer" said Samantha.

"Wow, what do you have in here, it weighs a ton" said John lifting the duffle bag.

"It's all the clothes and gear for the trip" said Samantha.

"Right. Lets get it to the car and get you to the airport" said John.

Once in the car John started rattling off a list of requirements.

"Ok Samantha, the most important thing is to keep your anonymity so I want you to change your name" said John.

"I'm not going to lie to them" said Samantha.

"I think you could use a nickname. How about Antha" suggested John.

"Antha? My grandma use to call me that" said Samantha with a smile.

"So you'll introduce yourself as Antha" said John.

"Fine, but if they ask me what it's short for I'm telling them the truth" said Samantha.

"Next, I want you to remember that you are a fan. A big fan so make sure you are properly excited about being on the boat and meeting the crew" explained John.

"So basically you want me to change my name and act like a simpering fool around them" spat Samantha.

"Don't be like this" said John. "You are getting paid to do this and your future with this company depends on them not figuring out who you are."

"You've made that abundantly clear" said Samantha.

They finally arrived at the airport and Samantha all but jumped out of the car. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and John as soon as possible. Samantha already felt like she was going into this whole experience tied up in lies.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Please note that I own nothing. I forgot that in the last chapter. Also, thank you for all the reviews. I'm planning to keep this story light and funny.

Sig sat angrily in the wheelhouse waiting for the crew to assemble. Today was the day his contest winner was due to arrive. He'd decided to wait until today to tell the crew about their guest for the trip. The last thing he wanted was the crew chatting when they should be working. Edgar and Norman already knew about their special passenger but they'd kept it mum at Sig's request. Norman, Jake and Nick were sitting patiently in the wheelhouse waiting for Matt and Edgar to arrive. Norman smirked at Jake's obvious discomfort at Sig's anger. He had no doubt Jake probably thought they were going to get in trouble for one thing or another. Judging by the nervous way Jake was twisting his hands, he'd probably confess before Sig even said a word. Matt and Edgar arrived in the wheelhouse and took seats on the bench closest to Sig.

"Well, now that you two have finally graced us with your presence we can get this meeting started" said Sig.

"I didn't have anything to do with it" stated Jake nervously.

"Junior, I don't care about your stupid pranks or whatever you are about to tell me. This has nothing to do with you" snapped Sig.

"Roger" mumbled Jake, his cheeks flaring red.

"What does this have to do with?" asked Nick.

"We are getting a new greenhorn for this trip. She's a contest winner picked by the Discovery channel" said Sig glaring at the camera.

"A she?" asked Matt.

"Yes, a she. She should be here today and once she gets here we will finish final prep and then head out" said Sig.

"Wait, why are we getting a girl greenhorn? Who agreed to this?" asked Matt.

"Matt, I don't pay you to think. I pay you to work" said Sig.

Matt's eyebrows rose in response to Sig's comment but he managed to stifle his verbal retort.

"Where is she going to be sleeping?" asked Jake.

"With you" snapped Sig. "Actually I don't care where she sleeps, put her in the Discovery crews bunk since it's their fault she's here in the first place."

"Sig, are you going to tell them a little about her?" asked Edgar with a smile.

"Why would I do that?" asked Sig warily.

"So they know what to expect" said Edgar.

"Fine, she's an aerobic instructor, a chef and some other stuff" listed Sig.

"A chef? Does that mean I don't have to be the cook for this trip?" asked Matt.

"Sure, she can do the cooking" said Sig. "Alright, if you don't have any more questions lets finish up what's left and get ready to leave."

"Roger" chorused the crew.

Samantha smiled wearily as the plane touched down in Dutch Harbor and skidded across the runway towards the tiny terminal. She'd managed to keep herself from vomiting on the plane ride from Anchorage. Not everyone on the flight had been as lucky and the sound of retching had filled the plane for the last 45 minutes. The plane pulled to a stop and the pilot quickly opened the door. Samantha all but bolted out of the plane taking big gulps of fresh air as soon as she crossed the threshold of the door.

"Good luck sweetie" said the pilot handing over her duffle bag.

"Thanks, I'm sure I'll need it" replied Samantha.

She walked through the terminal and out to find a way to get to the boat. John had given her a huge list of instructions but no real guidance on how to accomplish them. Her list had said, get to the Northwestern yet there was no indication of what modes of transportation would be available. Lucky for her there was a taxi waiting outside.

"Where to missy?" asked the driver.

"The Northwestern" replied Samantha.

"Well, that's quite specific. Usually people just say the dock" said the driver with a smile.

"I'll remember that for next time" said Samantha.

The driver chatted nonstop while the cab wove through the streets of Dutch Harbor. Samantha nodded and responded with vague sounds of understanding at what she hoped were the appropriate times. She wasn't in the mood to listen to the travelogue or whatever the driver was expounding on. All she wanted was to get on the boat and get the two weeks over with. Samantha looked down at her hands, the nails were painted a deep red and her fingers were adorned with a few rings. She doubted she'd have any nail polish left on her fingers by the time the trip was over, probably nothing more than stubby nails bitten down to the quick. The cab came to a sudden stop and the driver set the car in park.

"Well sweetie here are the docks. The Northwestern should be down there on the right" said the driver.

Samantha paid the fair plus a generous tip and grabbed her duffle bag from the trunk. Waiving goodbye to what she imagined would be the last friendly face for a few weeks she started down the dock.

Matt and Nick were quietly restringing pots on the deck when they saw Samantha approach. Matt dropped the spool of thread on the pot and smacked Nick in the shoulder.

"Hey, do you think that's the girl?" asked Matt.

"I don't know, go find out" said Nick.

Matt didn't need to hear the suggestion twice, he was up over the side and onto the dock in a heartbeat.

"Hi, are you the fan?" asked Matt.

"Yes, my name is Antha" said Samantha.

"Wow, that's a cool name" said Matt.

"Thank you" said Samantha.

"Let me take your bag" said Matt.

"Ok" said Samantha passing her bag to Matt.

He gingerly tossed the bag onto the deck before turning back to face Samantha a worried look on his face.

"There wasn't anything breakable in there?" he asked.

"Um, just a priceless Ming vase" said Samantha with a smile.

"Right, well Edgar can probably melt it back together" said Matt.

Samantha just smiled and watched as Matt jumped off the dock climbing like a spider monkey down to the deck of the boat. Once he was on deck he looked back up at where Samantha was standing.

"Ok, just do what I did" said Matt.

Samantha nodded and hesitantly started to follow Matt's path down to the deck. She managed to make it about 5 feet from the deck when she got stuck.

"Ok, just jump down to the deck" prompted Matt.

"I don't know if I can" said Samantha.

"It's not that far" said Matt.

"It looks a little far" said Samantha.

"Yeah, well Sig's not going to let you spend the trip perched on the rail" said Matt.

"Fine" muttered Samantha as she dropped to the deck.

She landed completely gracelessly on the deck of the Northwestern. Matt scrambled over and helped her to her feet making a big show of brushing her off.

"I think you are all still in one piece" said Matt happily.

"Barely" muttered Samantha.

"Your ass is probably going to be hitting the deck a lot, it's just getting aquatinted with it a little early."

"So Matt, who's your friend?" asked Nick.

"Nicky this is Antha, she's our special guest" said Matt.

"Nice to meet you Antha" said Nick.

Samantha smiled shyly.

"That's a really cool name is it short for something?" asked Nick.

Samantha was about to answer when Sig's booming voice sounded over the hailer.

"MATT, GET HER UP HERE AND GET BACK TO WORK."

"Excuse me, I'll need to meet my favorite captain" said Samantha in what she hoped was a sincere voice.

"Good luck Antha" said Nick.

Samantha nodded, grabbed her bag and followed Matt to her doom or rather to the wheelhouse.

Sig sat like a king in his thrown waiting for his newest slave to arrive. Edgar and Norman sat casually on the bench seat. Samantha entered the wheelhouse alone, Matt had set her bag in their stateroom before shoving her up the stairs.

"Hi, I'm Antha. I'm so excited to be here. This is really a once in a lifetime opportunity. Thank you for allowing me on your boat" gushed Samantha.

"Yes, well I'm sure you're thrilled. But this isn't going to be a vacation for you. This is a working boat and you are now part of this crew for better or worse" explained Sig.

"Edgar is the deck boss and he'll give you the rundown of what you are going to be responsible for" continued Sig.

"Ok, well it was nice to meet you" said Samantha.

"Come on Antha, lets get out of Sig's wheelhouse" said Edgar.

She followed Edgar down the stairs into the galley with Norman trailing behind her. Once in the galley Edgar stopped suddenly and Samantha plowed right into him.

"Well, if you wanted a hug you could have just asked" said Edgar teasingly.

"Sorry, but your break lights aren't working" said Samantha.

"I'll have to get those checked out" said Edgar. "Anyway, this is the galley and your primary responsibility on this trip. John told us you were a chef so we expect some delicious dinners."

"No problem" said Samantha.

If all she was going to be doing was cooking in the kitchen she'd survive two weeks with little stress.

"So this is the fridge with most of the fresh veggies and stuff in it. The dry storage is over this way" said Edgar walking down the hall. "Then the rest of the frozen food is outside in the big reefers."

"Is all the meat frozen?" asked Samantha.

"Yes" replied Norman.

"How long does it take to defrost?" asked Samantha.

"Usually we defrost in the microwave" said Edgar.

Samantha made a face and Edgar turned his full attention to her.

"Listen Antha, this is a working boat and we don't always have time to pre-plan meals so don't look like it's the worst thing in the world to defrost shit in the microwave" said Edgar angrily.

Samantha's eyes widened and for a moment she felt the tell tale feeling of tears pricking at her eyes.

"I didn't mean anything by it" said Samantha her voice meek.

"Don't cry. There is no crying on this boat, that's a rule" said Edgar.

Samantha nodded but said nothing. Edgar moved towards the staterooms and Samantha dutifully followed. Once inside the stateroom Edgar knelt down over Samantha's bag.

"Ok, lets see what you brought" said Edgar.

Norman pulled Samantha's hand and she sat with him on the lowest bunk.

"It's standard procedure" said Norman. "Just making sure you have everything you need and nothing you don't."

"It's fine, I have nothing to hide" said Samantha.

"Alright, 3 sets of rain gear, 3 pairs of boots. Why do these boots have flowers on them?" asked Edgar.

"Because I thought it would be a good idea to make sure they were different from everyone else's, since my feet are smaller" explained Samantha.

"Yeah, well we could tell which are which because yours are smaller" said Edgar.

Samantha's cheeked infused with color and Edgar chuckled softly before reaching back into her bag. He pulled out her clothes, noting which should be worn on deck and which were best for inside.

"What is this?" asked Edgar pulling out a black roll.

"Those are 3 knives for cooking" replied Samantha.

"Can I open it?" asked Edgar.

"Yes, of course" said Samantha.

Edgar reverently opened the knife roll and pulled out a wicked looking cleaver. He admired it for a moment before placing it back in it's spot before removing a small paring knife. He was about to run his finger across the blade.

"Stop, it's really sharp. I just had them professionally sharpened a few days ago" said Samantha anxiously.

"I want to test them out" said Edgar.

"That's fine, but not on your hand" said Samantha. "You should be able to slice an overly ripe tomato with no problem."

"Good luck finding an overly ripe anything on this boat today" muttered Norman.

"So where did you train to be a chef?" asked Edgar.

"The CIA" replied Samantha.

"Wow, did they teach you how to kill someone with a knife?" asked Edgar.

"Any idiot can kill someone with a knife" said Samantha. "But they did teach us how to completely gut something, chop it into pieces and make sausage out of them."

"Did you get selected to be a chef in the CIA through a test or something?" asked Norman.

"It's not the CIA like central intelligence agency it's CIA as in Culinary Institute of America" explained Samantha.

"Oh" said Norman.

"I'm sure it makes it a little less impressive. Although given the opportunity I could easily make sausage out of a human" said Samantha helpfully.

"I'll make a note of that in case we need to use your particular skill during the trip" said Edgar with an evil smirk.

Samantha smiled and Edgar turned his attention back to her bag. He pulled out the rest of her clothes, a pair of sippers and finally her sleeping bag.

"That is a ridiculous amount of stuff crammed into this bag" remarked Edgar.

"Yes well I figured just one bag would be best" said Samantha.

"Alright everything seems fine. This bunk will be yours" said Edgar pointing to the top most bunk.

"How am I suppose to get up there" said Samantha to herself.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out or someone will happily toss you up there" said Norman.

Edgar and Norman left Samantha to get settled in, telling her to meet them outside once she was done.

Samantha shrugged on another sweatshirt and some fuzzy socks before emerging from the stateroom. She stopped in the bathroom to pee. While she was in there she changed the roll of toilet paper that was dangerously close to running out. She walked into the galley and found Matt and Jake laying on the benches with their eyes closed. She quietly walked into the kitchen with her plastic water bottle. She opened the fridge and used the bottled water to fill her own bottle. As she closed the fridge she found Sig standing behind it.

"Wow you scared me" squeaked Samantha.

"Yes, well I'm sure it will happen often. I need to talk to you upstairs" said Sig.

Samantha followed Sig up the stairs to the wheelhouse. Once up there he told her to sit and then handed her a notebook.

"Thank you" said a very confused Samantha.

"Don't thank me, it's from John. You are suppose to keep a journal about your time on the boat so you can blog about it when the episodes play" explained Sig impatiently.

"So not only am I suppose to survive just being on the boat I'm suppose to document it so I can write about it later? What an asshat" said Samantha.

"Is that anyway to talk about the person who selected you to win the contest" chided Sig.

"In a word yes" said Samantha. "If that's all I'm going to store this somewhere."

"You can go. We are leaving in about an hour so if you have last minute phone calls to make now is the time" said Sig.

Samantha walked out of the wheelhouse trying to think of anyone she'd want to call, deciding there wasn't she just went back to the stateroom to drop off the journal and then planned to slip outside to get her last glance at civilization.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you for all the encouraging reviews. I'm sorry for the time between chapters, but recent events in my life have thrown me for a bit of a loop. Please continue to review.

Samantha walked out onto the deck shivering slightly at the chill in the night air. It was already dark and the lights of Dutch Harbor were twinkling in the distance. She walked to the rail and stared over the side of the boat.

"Be careful, it's a long way down" said Edgar.

"The TV show doesn't do the boat justice, it's really much bigger in person" said Samantha.

"How many other boats have you been on to compare it to?" asked Edgar.

"None. I've never been on a boat before in my life" said Samantha.

"Never? Not even like a ferry ride?" said Edgar in surprise.

"Nope, not a ferry, not a cruise ship, nothing" said Samantha.

"So do you get seasick?" asked Edgar.

"I have no idea" answered Samantha.

"Well if you do we'll take care of you. It happens to me every time" said Edgar.

"Do you want me to make dinner? Just in case I start puking later" asked Samantha.

"No, we ordered pizza tonight. It should be here soon" said Edgar.

"Great, I love pizza" said Samantha.

"Let me give you a tour of the deck before it gets too much darker" said Edgar.

"Ok" said Samantha.

She reluctantly walked away from the rail following Edgar through the massive number of pots stacked on the deck. Edgar stopped at the bait station and presented where he imagined Samantha would spend most of her time on deck.

"Very impressive" said Samantha.

"Yes it is. This is the fresh cod, you'll string one per set up and then two hanging bait bags. We use frozen herring for the ground bait which is found in this freezer" said Edgar patting a door. I'll actually teach you how to make the set ups tomorrow."

"Great" said Samantha. "I think the pizza's here."

Nick and Matt had just dropped onto the deck with a stack of pizzas and some drinks.

"Lets eat" said Edgar walking to the door.

Samantha followed Edgar and the guys into the galley. There was a box of pizza for each person and Samantha hoped that she wouldn't be expected to actually eat an entire pizza. It quickly became apparent that any slack on her part would be taken up by one of the other members of the crew.

After dinner Samantha followed Edgar around the boat getting an idea of what life on a working crab boat would involve. At the end of the tour Edgar took her up to the wheelhouse. Samantha stalled a bit on the stairs and Edgar noticed and turned around.

"Come on Antha, he's not going to hurt you" said Edgar.

"I know that" said Samantha petulantly.

"Well then why did you stop walking?" teased Edgar.

"I'm coming" said Samantha hurrying up the stairs.

As she and Edgar crested the threshold Sig glanced over his shoulder to see who was interrupting his work.

"What do you want Edgar?" asked Sig.

"I just wanted to show Antha where the other survival suits are and how to use the radio" said Edgar.

"Fine. We are going to leave within in the hour" said Sig turning back to his charts.

"Ok Antha, these are the survival suits. I need to test to see how fast you can put it on. You need to get in on in less than a minute" explained Edgar.

"No problem, I did the Discovery channel training with the coast guard" said Samantha.

Edgar tossed the survival suit on the floor in front of Samantha and grabbed a timer from one of the drawers.

"On your mark, get set, Go!" said Edgar.

Samantha unfurled the survival suit and stepped out of her shoes. She managed to shimmy into the suit and pull up the zipper in just 41 seconds. Sig had been watching her progress with detached interest and when she pulled the zipper and announced she was finished he looked at Edgar to hear the time.

"Wow, 41 seconds, that was amazing" said Edgar.

"Well I guess we know who will be helping everyone else zip up their suits" said Sig. "That's a fantastic time, even if you start to panic and you go a little slower you'd still be under a minute" said Edgar.

"Alright Antha, come over here and I'll show you how to use the radio" said Sig.

Samantha walked over to the captain's chair and leaned over Sig's shoulder as he explained how to work the radio and which channels the boat used. After Sig explained everything he turned around in the chair to face Samantha.

"Do you think you are going to be ok?" asked Sig seriously.

"Yes" answered Samantha honestly. "I've actually trained for this."

"Trained? How?" asked Sig.

"Well I've been running, which I realize that there probably won't be a lot of running required on the boat but it built up my endurance" said Samantha.

"What else did you do?" asked Sig.

"I lifted weights" said Samantha.

"Oh really? Do you think you'd beat me in an arm wrestling contest?" asked Sig.

"No" said Samantha quickly.

"Hmm, maybe later in the trip I'll ask you again" said Sig. "Why don't you go help the guys pull in the lines."

"Ok" said Samantha.

"And Antha" said Sig. "Be careful, I'd hate to lose you before we even leave the docks."

"I will" said Samantha quietly.

Samantha stood on the deck next to Jake and Matt. She watched as Edgar and Norman coordinate which lines would be pulled and in what order. Nick tapped her on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow him to the bow. Samantha walked slowly up the ladder slipping only once.

"Hey, be careful. You wouldn't want to mess up your flower shoes" said Nick.

"It wouldn't be so hard if this boat wasn't so slippery" said Samantha.

"Oh Antha, if you think this is slippery wait until we are out at sea" said Nick.

"Are you saying the best is yet to come?" asked Samantha.

"I don't know if I would say the best, possibly the worst is yet to come" said Nick.

Once on the bow Nick moved Samantha to where a few buoys were hanging over the side wedged between the boat and the dock.

"Once the boat starts moving away from the dock the buoys will come loose and we will pull them up over the side" explained Nick.

"I think I can do that" said Samantha.

Sig's voice announced they were ready to go and Samantha braced herself for the movement of the boat. She watched as the boat pulled slowly away from the dock, once the buoys were free of the dock she pulled them up onto the bow.

"Nice work" said Edgar.

"Thanks" replied Samantha. "Now what do we do?"

"Rest until we get closer to the grounds" replied Norman. "Then the work really starts."

"Lets get all this stuff secured and head inside" said Edgar.

For next few minutes the guys worked to tie the buoys to the bow and make sure the lines were securely tied. After everything was ship shape everyone moved back inside.

Samantha managed to make it half an hour before she started to feel sick. At first it wasn't really anything just a little headache and a weird feeling in her tummy. However, it soon became clear that she was going to be throwing up her pizza in just a matter of moments. Norman seemed to sense what was about to happen and quickly whisked Samantha outside to get her a little fresh air and a bowl to throw up in. The air hit Samantha and for a brief moment she thought she'd be ok, then she felt her stomach rebel and Norman thrust the bowl into her hand just in time. After she'd finished throwing up her pizza, she lifted her head and Norman pulled the bowl out of her hand, replacing it with a bottle of water. Samantha took small sips and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

"Are you ok Antha?" asked Norman.

"Um, probably not" replied Samantha.

"Well let me know when you want your bowl back" said Norman.

"I'll just take it back now, you know just in case" said Samantha.

Norman handed her the bowl and she carefully took it so she wouldn't spill any of it's contents before she realized it was empty.

"What did you do with all the barf?" asked Samantha.

"I used it to feed the fish" replied Norman.

"Why would you have fish on the boat?" asked Samantha.

"We don't, they are in the water all around us" said Norman gesturing to the ocean surrounding the boat.

"I don't get it" said Samantha.

"I threw it over the side" said Norman simply.

"Oh" said Samantha. "I think I threw up part of my brain because that shouldn't have been so confusing."

"You're lucky it's only me out here and not the camera guys because they would have a field day with this" said Norman.

"Thank god for small favors" said Samantha.

Samantha threw up a few more times before she felt like there was nothing left in her stomach. Norman pulled the bowl out of her hands and walked over to the railing and dumped it overboard.

"Lets go back inside and have you lay down, once you sleep for a while you will probably feel better" said Norman.

Samantha nodded and unsteadily walked back into the house. Norman led her all the way to the stateroom. Samantha walked into the room and quickly retrieved a pair of pajamas out of her duffle bag. Without ceremony she tugged off her sweatshirt and t-shirt giving Norman a little peak at her side boob. Next she removed her pants tossing them haphazardly onto the floor before slipping on her pajama pants. Samantha climbed up to the top bunk before reaching down to take the bowl and the bottle of water from Norman.

"Good night Antha" said Norman.

"Night Norman" said Samantha her voice muffled by her pillow.

Jake, Matt and Nick all eventually retired to the stateroom in the hours after Samantha went to bed. Although she slept occasionally she was still feeling sick. Jake could hear that Samantha wasn't feeling good, even though she wasn't actually throwing up anything he could hear her retching. Jake decided that she'd be better off sitting up or in a room that was less claustrophobic.

"Antha, lets get you out of the room" said Jake quietly.

Samantha agreed and climbed off her bunk before following Jake out of the stateroom. The galley didn't make Samantha feel any better, in fact she felt worse. Jake watched her lightly bang her head on the table in an effort to distract herself from feeling sick.

"Lets try the wheelhouse, maybe being able to see outside will make you feel better" said Jake.

"I'll try anything at this point" said Samantha.

Sig turned at the sound of people walking up the stairs, it was almost an hour before Edgar's turn at watch and he didn't think anyone else would be awake. When Jake and Samantha walked in he immediately knew she wasn't feeling good.

"Where is her bowl?" asked Sig.

Samantha held it up to show Sig that she had it close at hand. Jake moved her into the port side chair and cracked the window for her. The moment the cool air hit her she felt a little better.

"Jake, you can leave her here, I'll keep an eye on her" said Sig.

"Roger" said Jake tiredly.

Sig watched Samantha out of the corner of his eye. He watched her look out the window and attempt to regulate her breathing.

"You know Edgar gets sick every single time we leave port" said Sig conversationally.

"Poor guy, if this is how he feels every time I don't know how he keeps coming back" said Samantha.

"Well you can ask him when he comes up for watch in half an hour" said Sig.

"Can I open the window a little more?" asked Samantha.

"Yes, but you should probably put on a sweatshirt or something" said Sig.

"I'll be ok, the fresh air is making me feel better and right now walking is not something I'm excelling at" replied Samantha.

"Ok" said Sig doubtfully.

Samantha and Sig sat in silence both lost in their own thoughts. Sig was thinking about the season, where to drop the pots, how long the processors would give him before the first offload and if this season would be profitable. Samantha on the other hand was trying to convince her body that she wasn't seasick and failing miserably. Sig sighed and Samantha glanced over at him.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"No. Come over here and sit. I have to hit the head and Edgar will be up here in a few minutes" said Sig.

"Um, sure" said Samantha.

She got up and walked over towards the chair taking her bottle of water and vomit bowl with her. Sig stood up and Samantha slid into his seat.

"Ok, don't touch anything, the boat is on autopilot and there is nothing that you should really have to look out for right now" said Sig.

"No problem, I won't touch a thing" said Samantha.

"You're shivering" said Sig.

"Yeah, I got a little cold" said Samantha.

Sig shrugged out of the fleece he was wearing and slipped it over Samantha's head.

"Here, just wear this, I wouldn't want you to freeze to death" said Sig gruffly.

Sig walked into his stateroom leaving Samantha alone in the wheelhouse. She slipped her arms into the fleece smiling shyly at how big it was on her.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Happy Mardi Gras everyone. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, every time I see one in my inbox it puts a smile on my face. Keep them coming.

Edgar walked sleepily up to the wheelhouse, he'd stopped and got himself a cup of coffee putting him slightly behind schedule. He hoped Sig wouldn't notice. For a second he didn't see anyone sitting in the chair but then the chair spun around revealing Samantha. Edgar jumped slightly because the whole spinning chair was a little spooky.

"Holy Shit, what are you doing in the chair" said Edgar breathlessly.

"Sitting" replied Samantha. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't really, it was just a bit of a surprise" said Edgar.

"Sig had to go to the bathroom and he left me in charge" said Samantha.

"He left you in charge?" asked Edgar in disbelief.

"Well he left me warming the chair for you" admitted Samantha. "Don't worry I didn't touch anything, the boat is driving itself."

"That would be very impressive if you could drive the boat on your first day" said Edgar.

"Well there are only two levers so really how much trouble could I get into" remarked Samantha jokingly.

Edgar and Samantha laughed at the possibilities. He walked around to the chair and Samantha slid out of the seat and around Edgar. She parked herself of the bench behind the captain's chair and watched as Edgar checked the navigation system.

"Well you seemed to have kept us on course" said Edgar.

As he turned to look at Samantha he noticed two things, the first was that she was wearing Sig's fleece and the second was that she was looking a little peaked. Edgar lit a cigarette and opened the sliding window a little more.

"Do you want one?" asked Edgar.

"I don't think so" said Samantha her voice slightly edgy.

"Don't tell me you are a member of the anti smoking league" said Edgar his voice annoyed.

"That's not what I meant" said Samantha. "I'm just not sure if a cigarette will make me feel better. I think it will probably just make me throw up again."

"Well there is only one way to find out" said Edgar.

"Fine, lets find out" said Samantha. "Let me get my bowl, just in case."

Samantha walked over to the port side chair where she'd left her bowl. Edgar stuck another cigarette in his mouth and lit it. Once Samantha wandered back over he handed her the cigarette. She took it and sat back down on the bench seat. Edgar watched with interest and Samantha took a few drags off the cigarette, he was waiting to see what happened. Samantha felt uneasy as she took a few drags of the cigarettes but once the nicotine entered her system her nausea seemed the wane.

"I think I'm feeling better" announced Samantha.

"Well that's a relief, I was really worried" said Edgar sarcastically.

"I'm sure you were really loosing sleep over it" chided Samantha.

Samantha finished her cigarette and stood up and snuffed it out in the overflowing ashtray next to Edgar. Then she picked up the ashtray and emptied it in the trash can then wiped it out with a paper towel.

"I don't think that has ever been done on this boat" remarked Edgar.

"It must have been emptied before, because I'm fairly sure Sig smokes this many cigarettes in an afternoon" said Samantha.

"I meant no one has ever actually wiped out the ashtray. I mean what's the point it's only going to get dirty again" said Edgar.

"I guess just to have it clean for a moment is worth something" said Samantha with a smile.

Samantha returned to the bench and laid down. Edgar continued a steady stream of conversation to which Samantha occasionally responded. The rocking of the boat eventually lulled her to sleep. Edgar finally turned around when Samantha failed to laugh at one of his obviously hilarious jokes. When he saw she was asleep he couldn't help but smile. She was the only one on the boat who could actually lay down on the bench. Edgar's watch ended and Norman came to relieve him and noticed Samantha.

"What is she doing here?" asked Norman.

"Sleeping" replied Edgar.

"No shit. Why is she sleeping here and not in her bunk" asked Norman.

"I guess she was sick and came up here for fresh air" explained Edgar.

"That makes sense, but why is she wearing Sig's sweatshirt" asked Norman.

"That is something only Sig can answer" said Edgar.

"Are you going to take her with you?" asked Norman.

"Nah, just leave her here. She probably would get sick back downstairs. We will be to the grounds in a few hours anyway, let her sleep up here until we get there" said Edgar.

"If you think she'll be safe there" replied Norman thoughtfully.

"She'll be fine, she'll probably wake up on her own soon. I mean it can't really be that comfortable on that bench" said Edgar.

"I don't know, I've never laid down on it" said Norman.

"Yeah, I was just thinking she's probably the only person on this boat that could actually lay down on it" said Edgar. "I'm going to go back to bed, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya" said Norman.

Edgar went back to bed and Norman took his turn at watch. Samantha slept quietly completely unaware of Norman sitting in the captain's chair.

Sig woke up hours later and returned to the wheelhouse. He wasn't surprised to see Norman smoking a cigarette in the chair. He was surprised to see a lump in his fleece asleep on the bench.

"Mornin Norman" said Sig his voice still gruff from sleep.

"Hey Sig" answered Norman.

"Did she sleep up here all night?" asked Sig.

"I guess so, she was up here when I came to relieve Edgar" said Norman.

"Move her to my room, she can sleep in there" said Sig.

"Are you sure you don't want to just wake her up?" asked Norman.

"No, let her rest. She certainly won't get a lot of opportunity for the rest of the trip" said Sig.

Norman stood up slowly and stretched his back. Sig, deciding that Norman was taking too long, scooped Samantha off the bench settling her carefully in his arms. Samantha stirred and Sig immediately pulled her closer to his chest.

"Antha, I'm just moving you somewhere more comfortable, go back to sleep" whispered Sig into her ear.

Samantha relaxed into Sig's grasp and settled back into sleep. Sig carried her gingerly into his stateroom laying her carefully on his bunk before covering her with a blanket. Samantha rolled away from Sig tucking herself into a tiny ball. Sig watched her breathing even out and once he was convinced she'd gone back to sleep he left. He returned to the wheelhouse and went about his business almost forgetting about the sleeping girl in his stateroom.

Samantha awoke with a start her eyes cracked open quickly and she scanned the room. She shook the fuzzy feeling of sleep out of her head, the last thing she remembered was Edgar talking to her in the wheelhouse. Obviously she was in Sig's stateroom the only question was how she got there. A fuzzy memory of Sig carrying her flitted across her distant memory and she brushed it away as absurd. Struggling to untangle herself from the blanket she finally managed to make it out of bed onto the floor. Samantha made use of Sig's adjoining bathroom and then headed down to the galley. Once in the galley she hurriedly pulled out the makings for a hearty breakfast. Samantha fell into comfortable routine of making a meal. Using the flat top grill she placed the seasoned pork chops down first before she started to grate the potatoes and roll out biscuits. Flitting her way around the kitchen she completely forgot about her seasickness focusing only on cooking breakfast. The smell of breakfast soon filled the boat and stirred the others from their beds. Samantha took a break from cooking to make a fresh pot of coffee. The guys slowly filed into the galley taking seats at the table after pouring themselves some coffee. Samantha finished up the hashbrown potatoes and started on the eggs. Pulling off a bit of the grease from the pork chops she whipped up a quick gravy for biscuits. She sipped off her bottle of water while she cooked, effortlessly moving around the cramped kitchen as if she'd designed it herself. The meal was on the table in record time and the guys dug into the food with gusto.

"This is the best first day meal I think we've ever had. This gravy is amazing" remarked Nick.

"Yeah, this is awesome. I think I can easily work on setting some pots in the water" said Matt.

"I can't wait to see what's for lunch" said Jake.

"I think you should just work on finishing breakfast and we can worry about lunch later" said Samantha with a smile.

"Alright, who's done. They need to take over for Sig so he can eat" said Edgar.

"I'll go" said Nick.

Sig appeared in the galley a moment later and immediately served himself a huge plate of food and dug in without saying a word. Samantha filled the coffee cups of those still at the table and then casually slid into the seat next to Sig and filled her own plate.

"Are you just eating now?" asked Sig.

"Yes, I wanted to make sure there was enough for everyone else" said Samantha.

"You need to make sure to take care of yourself too. We are all use to doing this kind of work, you are not" explained Edgar.

"I'm eating, I'm staying hydrated. I'll be fine" said Samantha.

She finished eating and collected the plates carefully stacking them next to the sink. She filled the sink with hot water and soap then quickly began to wash up the dishes. Norman slid in next to her and helped to dry and put away the clean dishes.

"That was the last dish" announced Samantha as she passed a platter to Norman.

He efficiently dried it and put it away before turning to face her.

"Antha, you need to change into your deck clothes and get ready to get wet" said Norman with a smile.

"Okey Dokey" replied Samantha.

Samantha stood on the pitching deck of the Northwestern trying desperately to stay upright. Jake was helping her make bait set ups while the rest of the guys worked to get the pots off the stack. The deck was ridiculously crowded and Samantha was staying as close to the bait station as she could without ending up in the chopper. Jake had put Samantha in charge of stringing the cod since she seemed incredibly fast with the knife. She was able to slash and hang the cod faster than he could. When he'd complimented her on her skill she'd muttered something about the CIA and Jake wondered what kind of body parts she'd strung up before.

"Ok, we're ready to start dropping pots" announced Sig over the hailer. "Edgar, don't forget to bite the herring."

"Come here Antha, you can be the honorary herring head biter this trip" said Edgar.

"I'm not really interested in doing that" admitted Samantha.

"Why are you scared?" teased Edgar.

"More like disgusted. If you really want me to do that I will throw it back up all over your shoes" replied Samantha.

"You'd have to catch me first" said Edgar.

"Well really I know where you live. I didn't say I'd throw up on them right away" said Samantha with an evil smirk.

"Come on just do it. It will make sure we have a good season" pleaded Jake.

Samantha looked around at the faces of the crew, they looked both pleading and challenging. With a sigh Samantha held out her hand and took the fish from Edgar. The guys cheered and Samantha sunk her teeth into the fishy head and bit through it immediately spitting the piece onto the deck.

"Wow, you've got some sharp teeth" said Nick.

Samantha didn't say anything because she was too busy spitting out whatever herring remnants were still in her mouth. Edgar pressed her water bottle into her hands and she immediately rinsed her mouth out spitting forcefully onto the deck.

"That was truly disgusting" said Samantha.

"Antha, that was awesome" said Edgar giving her a gentle pat on the back.

"Are you guys done farting around down there? We have pots to drop and a season to start" barked Sig over the hailer.

Samantha wandered back to the bait station and continued to make the set ups while Jake hopped into each pot to bait them. The day went by quickly and Matt tapped her on the shoulder hours later to ask if she wanted to make lunch.

"Yes, anything to get dry for a minute" replied Samantha.

"Well head in now, you have like 20 minutes before we are done with this string so don't try anything too fancy" said Matt.

"No problem, I'll save the Fois gras for later" replied Samantha with a wink.

Once inside the ready room Samantha stripped out of her rain gear and hung it up on the peg. Next she tossed her wet sweatshirt in the laundry basket just inside the door. She hurried to the kitchen and pulled out a loaf of bread, some meat and cheese. Next she opened a few large tins of vegetable soup, pouring them into a large pot and setting it on the stove to heat. She quickly assembled the sandwiches and set them on the grill top to cook. Pulling herself up on the counter she was able to see out the window and onto the deck. From her vantage point she could watch the crew drop the last pot and begin to secure everything on deck. Samantha quickly flipped the sandwiches and turned up the heat under the soup. Next she pulled down all the dishes she'd need for lunch and arranged them on the counter. Lastly she sliced a few carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers for a small crudite platter. She'd just set everything on the table when the guys trouped into the galley.

"Antha, what is this?" asked Edgar pointing to the lunch spread.

"Well, there is a veggie plate with ranch dressing, vegetable soup and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches" explained Samantha happily.

"It looks delicious" said Norman.

"And I made a pot of fresh coffee and some fruit punch" said Samantha.

"Ok, lets say a prayer and then dig in before we get sent back out" said Edgar.

The group said a short prayer and then started to eat. Samantha ate slowly savoring the warmth of the soup. Norman finished first and went to relieve Sig in the wheelhouse. Sig barged downstairs and quickly filled his plate before giving Edgar a curious look.

"What's the deal with the vegetables?" asked Sig.

"Antha obviously thinks we need more of them in our diet" said Edgar.

"Hmph" replied Sig.

Lunch was finished and Sig announced that the next string was going to be dropped in about an hour. Samantha cleaned up the lunch dishes and put away a few of the uneaten vegetables. Next she pulled out a roast from the freezer hoping it would defrost by dinner time. As she walked to the stateroom she noticed that the laundry basket was now full and she took it upon herself to throw the clothes into the washing machine and start the load of laundry. Walking back into the stateroom she added another layer of clothes and then laid down on her bunk for a ridiculously short nap. On her way out to the deck she took a moment to throw the laundry into the dryer.

The rest of the afternoon and well into the evening was spent setting pots. Samantha got her chance to jump into the pot and hang bait, but after she whacked her head on the cross bar for the third time in a row it was decided that she was better off just making set ups. The weather stayed pretty calm and Samantha seemed to be getting her sea legs. Edgar walked over to the bait station to ask Samantha an important question.

"How long is it going to take you to make dinner?"

"I think the roast will take at least an hour and a half" answered Samantha.

"In that case, finish up these last few set ups and then head in to start dinner" said Edgar.

"Roger" replied Samantha.

Slipping into the galley she was pleasantly surprised that the roast was defrosted. She seasoned it with some dried herbs and spices, then cut up some vegetables and tossed them all together before sliding the pan into the oven. She latched the door on the oven and then pulled out a large sauce pan filling it with water and tossing in some diced potatoes. Once dinner was simmering on the stove she went to the dryer and pulled out the clothes. She made short work of folding all the clothes and quickly stacked them on the galley table. She had no idea what clothes belonged to who and decided it would be easier if everyone just put their own stuff away.

"Antha! Are you down there?" yelled Sig from the wheelhouse.

"Yes" yelled back Samantha.

"How long until dinner?" asked Sig.

"About 20 minutes" replied Samantha.

"Roger" said Sig.

Samantha assumed that the request for information meant that the guys would be inside sooner than later. Kicking into high gear she quickly made the mashed potatoes and gravy. Then found some frozen green beans and cooked those up with a little ham seasoning. By the time she'd sliced the roast everyone was charging into the galley. Matt stopped short and everyone behind him began to grumble about why his forward motion had stopped.

"What the fuck Matt?" barked Edgar.

"Someone did the laundry" said Matt his voice taking on a strange awe.

"Yeah, I did it. If you guys could just take what's yours. I wasn't sure what belonged to who" said Samantha.

"Antha, who asked you to do the laundry?" asked Edgar suspiciously.

"No one. I noticed the basket was full so I just tossed the clothes in the washer, then into the dryer. It's really a fairly simple operation, I'm sure all of you have done it before" said Samantha.

Sig walked down the stairs and into the galley. He was hungry and had set the boat on autopilot in order to eat with the crew and find out how everything on deck was going. He wasn't prepared to see the table covered with a bunch of clothes and his deck hands standing around like they've just seen the Virgin Mary appear on a piece of toast.

"What the hell is going on down here? I thought dinner was ready" barked Sig.

"Dinner is ready. I just need everyone to take their clean clothes off the table" explained Samantha.

Sig stepped forward and grabbed his fleece and a few other pieces of clothing and took them to his stateroom. Everyone else followed suit and soon the table was empty. Once the table was cleared Samantha quickly set out the food. When everyone returned they dug in immediately. Dinner conversation was centered around bait, the number of pots left on deck and how long the next string would be. Samantha half heard the conversation she was already planning the meals for the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: A quick turnaround on this chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Please continue to read and review.

Samantha rocked back and forth in her bunk as the boat rolled over the increasingly brutal bearing sea. Finally giving up on sleep she crawled out of her bunk and headed to the galley. She made a fresh pot of coffee and poured herself a cup before walking upstairs to see if whoever was driving the boat wanted one too. Sig was listening intently to the weather report which was crackling over the radio. It kept cutting out on the wind speed and that was pissing him off. His head swiveled around at the sound of Samantha's voice.

"Sig, would you like a fresh cup of coffee?" asked Samantha.

"Shh. I'm trying to hear the weather report" said Sig.

Samantha walked over and picked up his cold cup of coffee and went down to refill it. When she returned she was holding not only the cup of coffee but also a few cookies as a treat. Sig threw down the pencil in disgust before turning to accept the cup from Samantha's outstretched hand.

"Thank you" said Sig grumpily.

"Is everything ok?" asked Samantha.

"The weather is going to shit and I can't hear the damn weather report because the storm is messing up the radio transmissions" explained Sig.

"Maybe an extra pair of ears can help" said Samantha.

"Well it certainly isn't going to hurt" said Sig taking a sip of the coffee. "What did you do to this?"

"I just made a fresh pot and I put a cinnamon stick in with the grounds" said Samantha.

"Are you going to change everything on this boat before the week is up?" asked Sig, his voice teasing.

"I'm not trying to change anything" said Samantha defensively.

"But you are changing things without even realizing it" said Sig.

Samantha was about to start her rebuttal but the weather report crackled over the radio. Unconsciously she stepped forward placing her hands on the arm of Sig's chair leaning forward to be as close to the radio as possible. Through the crackling static of the radio Samantha listened to what were possibly the most disturbing words she'd ever heard. She stayed completely silent until the weather report was finished then she turned to Sig her eyes wide with terror.

"Did you hear what it said?" asked Samantha.

"Yes, we have a typhoon on it's way" said Sig calmly.

"Oh my God, I can't believe there would be a typhoon way up here. I thought they were more of a tropical phenomena" said Samantha.

"Well this one is probably coming from Japan" explained Sig.

"What are you going to do?" asked Samantha.

"Wake up the guys, we need to get these pots off the deck" said Sig.

"Ok, I'll go to make breakfast" said Samantha.

"Antha, make something quick. We need to get these pots off asap" said Sig.

"Ok" replied Samantha.

The guys walked into the galley to see breakfast sandwiches stacked on a platter in the center of the table. The rest of the kitchen was already clean and neat. Samantha sat on the counter in the kitchen watching the guys eat and sipping her coffee. The boat was pitching and rolling more than the previous day and Samantha assumed it was the approaching storm. She had no idea how long it would be before the boat was in the thick of the storm. Deciding she would make chili for lunch she hopped off the counter and pulled out a couple of pounds of meat setting them in the sink to defrost. Deciding that was all she could do for now she padded past the table heading to the stateroom. She'd almost made it past the table when Edgar's arm caught her around the waist.

"Thanks for breakfast" he said pulling her onto the bench.

"You're welcome" said Samantha.

"So, why are we up so early?" asked Edgar.

"A typhoon is coming and Sig said the pots need to get off the deck as soon as possible" replied Samantha, her voice belying her worry.

"Well lets go then, no time like the present to get some pots in the water" said Edgar. Samantha got up and headed to the stateroom to get dressed while Edgar walked towards the wheelhouse to talk to Sig.

The deck was like a teeter totter and Samantha felt like she was being tossed back and forth each time the boat crested a wave. She was in charge of making the bait set ups while Jake baited the pots. Everything seemed to be going well until holes were found in some of the pots on the bottom of the stack. Edgar came over to Samantha with a roll of twine and walked her over to the shrinking stack.

"Ok, you need to help me mend these holes" said Edgar. "I'll show you how to do it."

Samantha watched as Edgar used the twine to patch the holes tying a series of quick knots.

"You try" he said.

Samantha did her best to recreate what Edgar had done. He showed her a few more times and once she could do it on her own he left her alone. She worked as fast as she could but found the big rubber gloves to be a hinderance. She slipped off the work gloves and was able to go twice as fast with just her woolen gloves on. She moved from pot to pot occasionally being told to move by Edgar or Norman if she was in the way. Focused solely on her task she didn't realize how close pots were passing to her. Edgar and Jake commented that she must have nerves of steel to stand so still when a particularly wobbly pot passed over her head. Norman was taking extra care to keep the majority of the pots away from Samantha, but some of them had to pass over her. Getting to the last 10 pots was a challenge because Samantha had to slip in between two rows to get to them. Sliding her body between the pots she disappeared into the stack unnoticed by any of the other guys. When Nick turned around to hook up the next pot to the crane he noticed that Samantha wasn't where she'd been standing. A wave of panic swept over him and he struggled to keep himself from yelling out. His eyes calmly swept the deck looking for her, when his visual search came up empty he turned around in a circle checking all of his blind spots.

"Antha, where did you go?" called Nick.

"Nicky, hook up the next pot. Lets go, it's sick out here" yelled Norman.

"I can't find Antha" yelled Nick.

Everything on deck came to a grinding halt. Edgar was at Nick's side in a heartbeat and calmly asked him to repeat what he just said.

"She was right here a second ago" explained Nick.

"She probably went inside to go to the bathroom or something" said Edgar his eyes nervously searching the deck. "I mean if she fell overboard she would have yelled."

"Dude, that is not even funny" said Nick.

"ANTHA" yelled Edgar.

"WHAT?" came her slightly muffled reply.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?" bellowed Edgar.

"IN THE STACK STRINGING THE POTS" she bellowed.

Edgar spun around and stared at the wall of pots wondering where she was. He stared through the mesh of the pots feeling his vision get slightly unfocused, like he was looking a 3-D picture. A flicker of movement caught his attention and he watched as a small body emerged from between two pots.

"Is something wrong?" asked Samantha.

"Yes, you need to stay where we can see you" barked Edgar.

"What do you mean, I was right here. I only went through the pots so I could get started on the next row to help the whole process move faster" said Samantha heatedly.

"You shouldn't be able to fit through those, they are tied together" said Edgar.

"Well the ties are pretty loose so I was able to fit through" said Samantha.

"Where the hell are your gloves?" yelled Edgar.

"I was able to tie the lines better without them" said Samantha.

"You are going to ruin your hands" said Edgar seriously.

Before Samantha could respond Nick stepped in and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Antha, please stay where we can see you" said Nick. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry Nick, I didn't mean to scare you" said Samantha apologetically.

"Alright, lets get back to work before Sig notices" said Edgar.

The last of the pots had sploshed into the water 30 minutes ago. Long before the last pot was dropped Samantha was already in the galley making lunch. The chili on the stove was bubbling heartily and the green chili cheese cornbread was just about to be pulled out of the oven. All that was left was to dice a few onions to top the chili. Pulling out a cutting board and a knife she quickly got started. The guys tromped inside quickly splitting up to change into dry clothes or to grab a hot beverage. Edgar walked into the galley and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Why does this coffee taste like it has cinnamon in it?" asked Edgar.

"Because it does. I put a cinnamon stick in with the grounds" replied Samantha still chopping her onions.

"You should watch what you are doing before you lop off a finger" said Edgar.

"I'll be fine. I've been chopping onions for a really long time" said Samantha.

"Yeah but if you get cut it could become serious pretty fast" said Edgar seriously.

"Really, I'll be very careful" said Samantha placatingly.

"Do you know what the most common injury on a boat is?" asked Edgar.

"Getting crushed by something" replied Samantha.

"No" said Edgar.

"How about falling overboard?" said Samantha.

"No, it's" said Edgar.

"Being stabbed by someone trying to cook you lunch" interrupted Samantha.

"Possibly a close second. But the most dangerous thing out here is infection" said Edgar.

"Infection, I'll keep that in mind" said Samantha.

"You do that" said Edgar smugly.

Samantha rolled her eyes and returned to chopping the onions. When she was finished she served up lunch and took her place at the table between Jake and Matt. She was bone tired and as soon as she was finished eating she laid her head down on the table and closed her eyes.

"Don't do that" whispered Jake.

"Why?" asked Samantha into the table.

"Because if you aren't careful they will super glue your head to the table" whispered Jake.

"Really? Has this happened to you?" asked Samantha lifting her head from the table.

"Yep, it was terrible, I had to cut off part of my hair just to sit up" said Jake.

"Thanks for the warning" said Samantha.

"You are welcome, you have such pretty hair I'd hate for you to cut it" said Jake.

Samantha smiled and Matt snickered at the exchange. She elbowed him softly in the ribs as she continued to smile in Jake's direction. Matt took advantage of her distraction and pinched her side causing her to squirm. Suddenly the boat lurched to the left sending everyone searching for something to hang on to. Samantha reached forward and grabbed the pot of chili ensuring it wouldn't tip over while Matt held onto her. The boat quickly rited itself and everyone just looked at each other for a moment.

"Is everyone ok?" asked Sig's voice over the hailer.

Edgar picked up the phone in the galley and assured him everyone was fine and there as only minimal spillage. Samantha climbed over Matt, earning her a playful slap on the ass, and quickly began to clean up the galley. Jake helped her with the dishes and soon everything was secured in the locked cabinets.

In the wheelhouse Sig looked at the waves outside the windows. They had been growing steadily and were now screaming by his window one after another. Realizing the gear in the water needed time to soak, he decided to head for cover before the bulk of the storm hit the grounds. The run to safety was about 12 hours and Sig knew he'd be racing the storm to get there before the worst of the weather arrived. According to the boats fishing farther west the storm was a monster. Storms like these make everyone nervous and the danger of damage to the boat increases exponentially. He called the crew up to the wheelhouse to inform them of his decision.

"Alright, so the typhoon has been upgraded to a super typhoon. The wind and waves are going to be outrageous. So since the pots need time to soak I say we just head for a sheltering island and wait it out" said Sig.

"Sounds good to me" said Matt envisioning extra rack time.

"Yeah, if it's going to be nasty out I guess we should keep our guest as safe as possible" said Edgar.

"We are still going to hit some pretty heavy weather, so I need to make sure everything on deck is secured" said Sig.

"Roger. We'll do it now" said Edgar.

The group turned to walk downstairs when Sig caught Samantha's arm.

"Stay inside, it's already nasty out" said Sig.

"Sure, no problem" said Samantha.

"You can stay up here and watch the action if you want" said Sig.

"That would be interesting. Do I have time to go down and get something warm to drink?" asked Samantha.

"Sure, the bearing sea isn't going anywhere" replied Sig.

Samantha decided to do something a little special for the guys. She hurried to all the staterooms collecting everyone's blankets and pillow cases. She tossed them in the laundry making sure to add a little extra fabric softener. Then she went back to the galley and made herself and Sig cups of hot cocoa. When she walked back into the wheelhouse she was shocked to see how much the weather had deteriorated. The sky and the water were exactly the same color, a horrible colorless gray. The waves were huge and Samantha could feel her heart starting to beat riotously.

"Is one of those cups for me or are you just really thirsty?" asked Sig.

The question broke through Samantha's haze and she walked over and handed Sig the cocoa.

"What is this?" asked Sig.

"It's hot cocoa" said Samantha.

"What am I 5 years old?" said Sig.

"Well you are acting like it" said Samantha. "I made some for myself and I thought since you like chocolate you'd probably like hot cocoa."

Sig grabbed the cup and took a tentative sip. He fought hard to keep the smile from spreading across his face as he thoroughly enjoyed the rich warming drink. Samantha sat in the port side chair clutching the cup in her hand so hard her knuckles were turning white. The waves groaned as they passed the windows of the wheelhouse and when they hit the bow the whole boat trembled. Samantha was in and out of the wheelhouse putting dishes in the galley and finishing the laundry. When she returned to the wheelhouse after she'd remade all the beds Sig barked at her to sit still.

"You are like a hummingbird, just sit."

"Fine, I'm sitting. By the way the guys are done on deck" replied Samantha.

"Good. I hope everything is secured. It's going to be an insane storm" said Sig.

Samantha didn't say anything her eyes were slightly teary as her fear of the ocean seemed to completely take over her psyche. Just then there was yelling from the lower deck of the boat which snapped both her and Sig to attention.

"Antha, go see what's going on" said Sig.

"Roger" replied Samantha.

But before she even got to across the room Edgar was in the wheelhouse his pillow clutched in his hand.

"Hi Edgar" said Samantha brightly.

"Did you do this?" asked Edgar.

"I washed the pillow cases and blankets" said Samantha.

"Who asked you to do that?" asked Sig.

"No one, but they all smelled and I thought it would be nice for everyone to have fresh smelling bedding" explained Samantha. "Do you have some sort of stink contest on this boat? Like who can go longest without showering or washing their clothes?"

"Do you know where everyone else is right now?" asked Edgar.

"No" answered Samantha.

"They are all rolling around on their bunks sniffing their pillows, like they are in some sort of Downey commercial" said Edgar.

Samantha's face brightened and she broke into a huge smile before starting to laugh.

"Don't laugh" said Edgar trying to hide his smile.

"Edgar, are you going to take over so I can go sniff my pillow" said Sig.

At Sig's pronouncement both Samantha and Edgar burst into laughter.

"Sure, go ahead. I'll keep Susie homemaker up here to prevent her from hanging curtains or wallpapering the galley" said Edgar.

Sig got out of the chair and walked into his stateroom. As Edgar walked towards the captain's chair he whacked Samantha in the head with his pillow.

"Hey, you are going to mess up my hair" said Samantha.

"Too late" said Edgar.

Samantha sat pouting playfully in the port side chair.

"Come on Antha, don't start crying over there. You look just as pretty as you did when you walked on the boat" said Edgar.

"Edgar Hansen, did you just call me pretty?" teased Samantha.

"Maybe. Don't make a federal case about it" said Edgar.

"I think I may add this to my special memory scrapbook when I get home" said Samantha.

"You have a special memory scrapbook?" asked Edgar.

"No, but just because of this amazing compliment I may have to start one" said Samantha.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews. They were my encouragement to work hard on getting out this next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

The Northwestern had anchored up on the way side of Amak island. There were plenty of other boats sharing the safety of the land mass. Samantha was on watch, which really wasn't much of anything but sitting in the chair and staring out the windows. Sig had told her to watch out for any changes then went off to bed. Samantha was listening to her ipod and reading a rather racy romance novel on her kindle. She had another 2 hours of watch left and was determined to finish the book before her watch was over. Samantha was a voracious reader and this was the first opportunity she'd had to actually read anything since she got on the boat. The weather outside was brutal, the waves pushed against the bow of the boat. The rain was going sideways and the sounds of howling winds were barely drowned out by the Foo Fighters on her ipod. Happily involved in her novel and music she almost missed the weird snapping sound coming from outside.

"What the hell was that" said Samantha to herself.

She pulled the earplugs out of her ears and put down the e-reader. She stared out the window looking for what made the noise. At first nothing became apparent, however on closer study she realized that something was sticking out of the bow of the boat. She looked closer at the anchor line and realized that part of it had broken. She watched it for a few more minutes and heard the snapping sound again and realized that another part of the cable had broken. Reaching over she pulled the phone off the wall and pressed the first button she could reach.

"What" answered a very tired voice.

"Who is this?" asked Samantha.

"You called me" replied the voice.

"I know, but who is this?" asked Samantha again.

"Your prank is failing miserably" said the voice.

"It's not a prank, something is breaking off the anchor" said Samantha.

"What are you talking about?" asked the voice.

"The cable that's going over the front of the boat is coming apart. There are two pieces sticking out of it right now" explained Samantha.

"I'll be right up. If this is some sort of joke I will throw you overboard" said the voice.

Samantha sat stoically in the chair staring out the window to verify that there actually were two pieces sticking out of the cable. The last thing she wanted to do was piss someone off. Her head swiveled towards the door as Norman walked into the wheelhouse looking very tired and very annoyed.

"Alright Antha, lets see this breaking anchor" said Norman.

"It's right there" said Samantha pointing out the window.

Norman stepped up to the glass for a moment then walked over to the plotter.

"Go wake up Sig" said Norman.

"Ok" said Samantha.

Samantha stepped into Sig's stateroom leaving the door open slightly so a sliver of light illuminated part of the floor. She walked quickly to the bedside and shook Sig's shoulder. He didn't move an inch. Samantha took a deep breath and rolled him over so he was laying on his back.

"Sig, Norman asked me to wake you. There is something coming off of the anchor" said Samantha.

Before Samantha could say another word Sig had pulled her under him pining her with his body.

"Very funny. Which one of them made you do this? Whoever it is, I'm going to kill them" murmured Sig, not bothering to open his eyes.

Samantha shook her head wondering what the deal was with practical jokes on this boat.

"It's not a joke, two pieces of cable have broken off" said Samantha.

"Is the boat dragging the anchor?" asked Sig his eyes cracking open slightly.

"I don't know" replied Samantha.

"Go find out" said Sig rolling off of her.

"Fine" said Samantha slightly annoyed.

She struggled to right herself and moved off the bed. She walked back to the wheelhouse and asked Norman the question. Tromping back to Sig's room opening the door completely so the room was bathed with light. Forgetting all concept of decorum she jumped on top of Sig attempting to pin him down, her body bouncing slightly with the force.

"Well?" asked Sig.

"The boat isn't dragging it, however Norman confirmed there are two pieces of anchor line that have broken" answered Samantha.

"Are you just going to sit up there or are you going to let me up to see what's going on?" said Sig.

"I don't know. I rather like having you under my power" replied Samantha.

Sig moved a little trying to free his arms from inside the sleeping bag but Samantha had his arms pinned to his sides with her legs. He bucked against her dislodging her just enough to free his arms and grab her around the waist.

"Hmm, not so brave now are you?" taunted Sig.

"Don't you have a boat to check on?" asked Samantha with a smile.

"Consider yourself very very lucky" said Sig.

Samantha scrambled off Sig's lap and all but ran back up to the wheelhouse.

Norman had already woken up Edgar who was sleepily standing at the window staring at the anchor line. They both turned to watch Samantha run into the wheelhouse like the hounds of hell were chasing her. She skidded to a halt next to Norman and paused for a moment to catch her breath.

"Who are you running from?" asked Edgar.

Samantha didn't even have time to answer before Sig walked into the wheelhouse. Edgar looked between Sig and Samantha a confused look gracing his sleepy features.

"Alright, what's going on?" asked Sig.

"See for yourself" replied Edgar pointing out the window.

Sig walked to the window and assessed the damage as best he could through the falling rain.

"We need to go outside to see what the damage really is" said Edgar.

"Get the guys up here. If you have to pull up the anchor you are going to need all their help" said Sig thoughtfully.

"Roger" said Norman.

"I'll help" volunteered Samantha.

"No, you stay here. I want you to tell me exactly what it sounded like when it broke" said Sig.

"It sounded like a boing and then a snap" said Samantha. "Then I listened a little closer and the second one popped."

"What was the boat doing?" asked Sig.

"Rocking. The waves were hitting the bow and rocking it up and down. I don't think there was particular wave that made it pop. It just seemed like it just kind of happened" explained Samantha.

"We'll take a look at it and let you know if it needs to be pulled in" said Edgar.

"That's a new chain, we had it replaced over the summer" said Sig to himself.

The others walked sleepily up into the wheelhouse. They all found a place to sit and quickly turned their attention to Sig and Edgar. Sig explained the issue briefly and Edgar went into the specifics about what the crew was going to do. After the plan was mapped out they quickly headed downstairs to suit up. Samantha turned to follow and was once again grabbed by Sig and stopped.

"It's nasty out. Just stay inside. If you are anxious about something to do you can make something for the guys to snack on when they come in. Or if me suggesting that you cook something is chauvinistic then you can go keep my bed warm for me or do anything else except go outside" explained Sig.

"I'm not offended by your suggestion to cook something" said Samantha. "The other suggestion I will take with a grain of salt."

"Well one can only dream" said Sig.

Samantha watched the guys progress on deck but her nerves eventually got the best of her and she excused herself downstairs.

In the comforting familiarity of the kitchen she prepared an american feast, cheeseburgers, french fries, onion rings, apple pie and milkshakes. The whole galley smelled like a drive in restaurant from the 50's, the only thing missing was Samantha on roller skates. Matt and Jake were the first ones into the house and the smell that hit them when the door opened made their mouths water.

"Oh my god, something smells so fucking good" said Matt hurriedly stripping out of his gear.

The table was set with every possible condiment imaginable, bacon, lettuce, tomato, fried onions and much more. Sig ambled into the galley and was surprised by the sheer amount of food that was being set out. He grabbed a french fry out of a passing bowl and popped it into his mouth.

"What's the occasion Antha?" asked Nick.

"Just thought you'd like something kind of comforting after you finished working" explained Samantha.

"This is awesome" said Jake as he inhaled a cheeseburger.

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it" said Samantha. "I made milkshakes too."

She poured everyone a shake and everyone sat down and began to eat.

"So Antha, what do you do?" asked Matt.

"Um, I" began Samantha.

"We know what she does" said Edgar with a smile.

Samantha's eyes widened and she wondered how in the world Edgar knew where she worked. She'd been ridiculously careful about keeping a low profile and mentioning nothing about her working for Discovery.

"So what does she do?" asked Matt.

"She's an aerobic instructor" said Edgar with a smile.

"Really?" said Matt with a smile.

"How did you know I did that? asked a very shocked Samantha.

"We saw your submission video" answered Norman.

"What exactly was I doing in this video?" asked Samantha.

"You were teaching some sort of dance to a group of women with some cool latin music" said Edgar.

"Zumba? You saw me teaching a zumba class?" said Samantha her voice surprised.

"You submitted the video. Don't you remember what you sent?" asked Sig.

"No" said Samantha.

She plastered a smile on her face, but internally she was mortified that the guys had seen her teaching aerobics and angry that John had taped her without her knowledge.

"Antha, could you teach us how to Zumba?" asked Matt.

"I could. It would certainly make a great segment for the show" said Samantha with a smile.

"You should have seen her in this video" began Edgar. "She's wearing this little tank top and her pants have tassels on them. And this whole herd of women just follow her every command. It was so bizarre."

"I'm glad it provided you with plenty of entertainment" said Samantha.

"You can't possibly be mad, you are the one that sent it in" said Edgar.

Samantha didn't say anything she just smiled and shrugged. The rest of the meal passed with friendly conversation and banter all around. After everything was cleaned up everyone with the exception of Norman, who had the first watch, settled into their bunks for some much deserved rest.

The heart of the storm was passing over Amak island churning the ocean and blowing the boats anchored behind the island. Waves were pouring over the side of the Northwestern and one particularly large wave pushed the boat over at a 45 degree angle and everyone in a bunk was suddenly out of it. Piled in a heap on the floor were Nick, Matt, and Jake. Lucky for Samantha she was in the bathroom at the time, the worst she got was a nasty bruise from being slammed against the towel bar. Samantha picked herself off the floor and opened the door into the hallway. Everything was dark and for a moment she was confused as to which direction the stateroom was. Rubbing her head she wandered down the hallway and ended up in Edgar's room. Edgar was laying on the floor in the dark searching for a flashlight. Samantha made it two steps into the room before she tripped over his feet and fell on top of him.

"Ouch" said Samantha.

"It couldn't possibly have hurt you more than it hurt me" said Edgar.

"True. Sorry about falling on you. Are you ok, other than nearly being crushed to death by an aerobics instructor?" asked Samantha.

"Honestly Antha, you are the only person on this boat I'd want to fall on top of me" said Edgar. "Bingo!"

Edgar spun around dislodging Samantha from his back and flicked on the flashlight. He turned the beam onto her prone form and then reached over to give her a hand.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yes, I hit the towel bar in the bathroom but other than that I'm fine" replied Samantha.

"Lets go check on the others" suggested Edgar.

They walked down the hallway and met up with Matt, Nick and Jake who were just coming out of the stateroom. Matt's lip was slightly bloody and Jake was holding his head.

"Is everyone ok?" asked Edgar.

"Yeah, busted lip, bumped head and being crushed by two guys but other than that we are all ok" said Nick.

The group walked into the galley and realized that everything had been thrown from the cabinets. There were DVD's littering the floor and all the food in the pantry had been thrown everywhere. The fridge stood open, containers of food littering the floor of the kitchen.

"What a mess" commented Samantha.

"Yeah, that's going to take a while to clean up" said Matt.

"Lets leave it for now and see how Sig and Norman are" said Edgar.

The group walked towards Sig's room, his door was still shut and when Edgar tried to open it he found it blocked.

"Sig! Are you alright?" called Edgar.

There was no reply. Edgar pushed harder on the door and was able to open it a crack. Samantha stepped forward and told Edgar to push again a little harder, he did and she slipped through the tiny opening into the room.

Once inside she realized the reason the door wouldn't open all the way, Sig's body was laying on the floor in front of it. Samantha knelt down next to him and tried to determine if there were any serious injuries.

"Sig. Sig, can you hear me?" asked Samantha quietly.

There was no response.

"Antha, move whatever is blocking the door" said Edgar.

"Sig's blocking the door and he's unresponsive" replied Samantha. "Give me your flashlight so I can see him."

Edgar passed her the flashlight and she fumbled for a moment before turning it on. The light revealed a stateroom in complete disarray, clothes and books were thrown from their shelving. Taking a deep breath Samantha turned the light on Sig, for a moment her deepest fears were realized when she saw his dull eyes staring back at her. Then he blinked.

"God, move the light, you're blinding me" he said softly.

"Oh thank God you're ok" said Samantha kneeling at his side.

"I'm not ok, everything hurts" said Sig.

"Do you think anything is broken?" asked Samantha.

Sig took a minute to gingerly wiggle his appendages.

"No, I don't think anything is broken" replied Sig.

"Then let me pull you away from the door so Edgar can get in here and check you" said Samantha.

"Really I'm fine" said Sig.

"Really? Because you are currently laying on the floor of your stateroom after being completely unconscious. I seriously doubt that you are fine" said Samantha bossily.

"Who died and made you head nurse?" asked Sig.

"Do you know what nurses do to naughty patients?" asked Samantha.

"No, what?" asked Sig his voice amused.

Samantha leaned down and whispered something so lewd and disgusting into Sig's ear that he blushed furiously.

"Now, if you are sure you don't have a spinal injury I'm going to pull you away from the door" announced Samantha.

Planting her feet she gently pulled Sig away from the door. He was a little heavy for her but she was able to move him enough so Edgar could get through the door.

"Wow, this place is a disaster" said Edgar surveying the room.

"Check on your brother. He was out cold when I came in but woke up as surly as ever a moment or two later" said Samantha.

"Ok, hold the light for me so I can see him" said Edgar.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not in the room" said Sig annoyed.

"Naughty patient" said Samantha causing Sig to blush.

Edgar inspected Sig's legs and arms for breaks then helped pull his brother into a sitting position. Sig's tousled hair stuck out in all directions, he reached up a hand to run a hand through it and winced.

"I think you hurt your shoulder" said Edgar.

"Yeah, it feels that way" said Sig.

"But everything else seems fine" said Edgar.

"Thank God for small favors" said Sig.

"Antha help me get him back in bed" said Edgar. "Then maybe a little ice for the injury."

Samantha and Edgar helped Sig to his feet taking care not to jostle his shoulder. Once he was lying down and somewhat comfortable Edgar made a path to the door.

"Alright Sig, we are going to check on Norman. Antha is going to get you some ice and sit with you. No sleeping because you bumped your head" said Edgar.

"Who died and made you doctor?" asked Sig contemptuously.

"Well it's nice to know the knock on the head didn't knock any sense into you" said Edgar.

Norman was fine, he'd seen the wave coming at the last minute and had managed to hold on while the boat rolled. The same good news didn't hold true for maps, charts and various brick a brack that were now strewn all over the wheelhouse. The crew split up and started the massive clean up process. Antha got a large bag of ice and a towel before she returned to Sig's room. Her job was to keep him from falling asleep.

Back with Sig she arranged the ice on his shoulder completely ignoring his wince of pain and the loud complaint that the ice was too cold. She spent the next hour or so picking up Sig's stateroom and having him direct her where to put everything. Once everything was cleaned up she returned to the bed and sat down. She'd barely stifled a yawn when Sig's eyes began to drift close.

"Please don't go to sleep" said Samantha.

"I'm tired, I haven't gotten a goodnight sleep since we left port" complained Sig.

"I know, but you hit your head and you aren't suppose to sleep" said Samantha.

"You're tired too, why don't you just lay down and sleep with me" said Sig.

"Because I'm suppose to keep you awake" said Samantha.

"You aren't doing a very good job" quipped Sig.

"You're right" said Samantha.

She reached over and plucked an ice cube out of the bag of ice on Sig's shoulder then with a little maneuvering dropped the cube down the neck of Sig's shirt.

"HOLY SHIT" yelled Sig.

"Don't move, you'll hurt your shoulder" said Samantha haughtily.

"OH YOU ARE DEAD" said Sig.

"A price I'm willing to pay to keep you awake" said Samantha.

"Well I'm damn well awake now" said Sig fishing out the ice cube.

"Excellent" said Samantha.

"Come closer" said Sig.

"No thanks, I'm fine here" said Samantha.

"Come over here, I'm not going to hurt you" said Sig.

"Liar liar pants on fire" said Samantha in a sing song voice.

"You are the most irritating person in this room" said Sig.

"I would beg to differ" said Samantha.

"Beg all you want, it's not going to change my mind" said Sig.

"Whatever" said Samantha dismissively.

Sig reached up to his shoulder and pulled a piece of ice out of the plastic bag tossing it in Samantha's general direction.

"Was that aimed at me? Because if so that was pathetic" said Samantha.

"Come closer and say that" said Sig.

Samantha refused to take the bait and stayed where she was.

After a few minutes of silence Sig began to get restless.

"Call Edgar and ask him how long I have to stay awake" said Sig.

"Where is the phone?" asked Samantha.

"Right here" said Sig pointing to the side of bunk.

"You're closer, you do it" said Samantha.

"I can't sit up to see which button to push" said Sig.

"Fine" said Samantha.

She climbed over Sig carefully trying to avoid putting any weight on him. Pushing the button on the consol she waited for Edgar to answer the phone.

"What" answered Edgar.

"How long is Sig suppose to stay awake?" asked Samantha.

"Is he still awake?" asked Edgar.

"Yes, but it hasn't been easy" said Samantha.

"Antha, I'm impressed I thought he'd be asleep already. If you think he's fine then let him sleep" said Edgar. "But stay there for a little while once he falls asleep just to keep an eye on him."

"Fine" said Samantha and hung up the phone. "He said.."

The words died on her lips because Sig was already fast asleep. Samantha leaned over and turned off the light. Sig's good arm caught her around the waist and settled her into his side. Not wanting to fight with him anymore she settled herself into the crook of his neck and closed her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Another quick chapter. Thank you for all the reviews.

The dream was always the same, it started in a crowded bar full of beautiful women and handsome men. Someone would be propositioned and in a fit of curiosity I would follow. Weaving through the people following my target I would find them locked in an embrace against a dimly lit hallway wall. I would watch feeling myself get aroused as their ardor pushed them farther into lust. I slipped my hand under the waistband of my clothes hoping I would be able to finish before they could.

"Matt, what are you reading?" asked Edgar.

Matt slammed Samantha's kindle with a snap.

"Nothing, just one of Antha's little books" replied Matt.

"Anything good?" asked Edgar.

"Not really" said Matt.

"Are you listening to her ipod too?" asked Edgar.

"Yeah, she left it up here so I thought I'd check out her taste in music" said Matt.

"How is her taste in music?" asked Edgar.

"Like everything about her it's good and slightly mysterious" said Matt passing Edgar the ipod.

"Cool playlists" commented Edgar.

"How's Sig?" asked Matt.

"I think he bruised his shoulder, but we will know more when he wakes up. Antha is in with him, hopefully keeping an eye on him" said Edgar.

"She's a brave girl, he's going to be a monster when he wakes up" said Matt.

"Maybe not, I mean there's a first time for everything" said Edgar with a smirk.

Sig moaned slightly in his sleep, he was trying to roll over but found it difficult with the pain in his shoulder and the weight on his chest. Cracking open his eyes he realized that the bag of ice on his shoulder was just water and that Antha was laying across his chest her hand curled around the fabric of his shirt. Her fingers were flexing open and closed as if she's having a bad dream. Sig tightened his arm around her in an effort to comfort her. She almost immediately quieted, then a moment later her eyes fluttered open.

"Good Morning" said Samantha quietly.

"What's so good about it" grumbled Sig.

"We are still alive" said Samantha.

"Very true" agreed Sig.

"How is your shoulder?" asked Samantha.

"It hurts" replied Sig.

"Ok, let me get you some pain medicine" said Samantha.

She crawled over Sig, giving him a nice view of her cleavage. Returning to the bed with a glass of water and a handful of pills she handed them to Sig. He took the pills and washed them down with half the bottle of water.

"Do you want to try getting up?" asked Samantha.

"Yeah, help me up" said Sig.

Samantha did her best to lever Sig out of bed allowing him to use his good arm to press on the bed. Once he was standing Samantha helped him towards the small bathroom. She walked him all the way into the small space and left him there leaning on the towel wrap.

"Aren't you going to stay and help me?" teased Sig.

"Not today" said Samantha. "I need to make breakfast."

Breakfast was a subdued affair, Sig made a brief appearance but quickly returned to his room to rest his sore shoulder. Matt and Samantha spent the rest of the morning trying to reorganize the kitchen cabinets and clean up the mess from the night before. As they worked on the dry storage area Matt and Samantha realized that the Northwestern sure kept things for a long time.

"Ok look at this one, it's from 1999" said Matt holding up a can of soup.

"Well as you know canned soup only gets better with age" said Samantha.

"I dare you to eat it" said Matt.

"I don't like chicken noodle soup" said Samantha. "But I double dare you to eat it."

"How about we serve it to Edgar, he loves chicken noodle soup" said Matt.

"As tempting as that sounds I would hate to have to step up and do his job if he gets sick" said Samantha.

"Killjoy" replied Matt.

The continued to work and when the dry storage was finally cleaned they decided to make something special for dinner.

"Matt, what's your favorite meal?" asked Samantha.

"Steak" replied Matt.

"Well lets make that for dinner" said Samantha.

"Awesome, but the steaks are in the outside freezer" said Matt.

"So?" asked Samantha.

"It means we need to suit up because it's typhooning outside" said Matt.

"Oh" said Samantha biting her lip.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe" said Matt.

"Promise?" said Samantha.

"I promise" said Matt.

Matt and Samantha suited up and got ready to go outside. Matt unlocked the door and pulled it open. The sound of the wind outside was deafening and Samantha got even more nervous about going outside to the freezer. It was a fairly short journey, out the door, then a turn to the right, walk past the bait station and into the freezer.

"Alright, just hold my hand and we'll walk out together" said Matt.

Samantha nodded and slipped her trembling hand into Matt's. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and led her outside. Walking outside was like getting thrown into a washing machine, the wind blew the rain all directions at once. Samantha's hair was immediately soaked. Matt pulled her across the deck trying to keep both of them upright as the boat moved up and down against the breaking waves. They made it to the freezer and Matt pulled open the door and pushed Samantha inside. Although the freezer was cold it was still a welcome respite from the rain and wind. Matt flipped the light switch and walked past the stacks of frozen herring to the storage area for the consumables. They found the steaks and headed back outside. Matt made sure the door of the freezer was completely closed. They slipped and slid across the deck, Samantha had almost made it inside when a wave of water washed over the side of the boat and knocked her off her feet. Matt caught her before she slid across the deck sweeping her into his arms and hustling her inside. He slammed the door barely managing to keep a hold of all the steaks. After a few seconds both Matt and Samantha had regained their breath and stood up.

"I told you I'd keep you safe" said Matt.

"Thanks" said Samantha.

Edgar walked passed Matt and Samantha and stopped suddenly.

"Why are you two so wet?" asked Edgar suspiciously.

"We just went to the freezer to get some steaks for dinner" explained Samantha.

"You went out in a typhoon?" asked Edgar.

"We didn't have to go very far" said Matt.

"Yes, but you are soaking wet clearly everything didn't go as planned" said Edgar.

"We got the steaks so the mission was a success" said Samantha.

"Go take a shower to warm up" said Edgar before walking away.

"Who was he talking to?" asked Samantha.

"Probably you since your hair looks like it's got ice crystals in it" said Matt.

Samantha reached up and touched her hair breaking off a piece of ice.

"Wow, I didn't think it would freeze that fast" said Samantha. "Let me get the steaks defrosting and I'll go shower."

"Go now before you catch a cold, I'll prep the steaks" said Matt.

"Ok, thanks. I'll see you in a bit" said Samantha.

Samantha stood in the shower defrosting under the hot spray. She quickly washed her hair hoping the red dye wouldn't color her towel. Next she soaped her body enjoying the feeling of being clean. Once she was all rinsed and clean she debated shaving her legs but decided to just do her armpits. She'd just finished when the door of the bathroom opened.

"Hey Antha, are you done yet?" asked Matt.

"Almost" replied Samantha.

"Ok, well you have one minute before I'm coming in there with you" said Matt.

"I'll have to hurry then" said Samantha.

She left the water running and peaked around the curtain to see Matt inspecting his beard in the mirror. She reached for the towel and an amazing show of agility managed to get out of the shower and wrap the towel around herself without getting it wet or falling on her ass.

"All done" said Samantha.

Matt turned around his mouth dropping in shock, he expected to see her dripping and naked instead she was dripping and wrapped securely in a towel.

"I left the water on for you" said Samantha.

She grabbed her dirty clothes and flitted out of the bathroom. Matt watched her go wondering if she was teasing him. Shrugging his shoulder he stripped out of his clothes and climbed into the shower. His senses were assaulted by the smell of the perfumed soap that Samantha used. Matt couldn't keep himself from inhaling the fresh scent and imagining Samantha's hands washing her body. She was a bit of an enigma to him, he wasn't sure how much aerobic instructors made but he doubted she could do that for a living unless she had a husband or perhaps she still lived with her parents. But she didn't wear a wedding ring and she didn't seem like the kind of girl who'd sponge off her parents. Matt quickly finished showering. He decided he'd find out more about the mysterious Antha while they were making dinner.

Jake was upstairs watching the anchor while everyone else sat downstairs watching the Antha and Matt cooking show. Even Sig had pried himself out of his bunk to investigate the uproarious laughter coming from the galley. Matt and Samantha were decked out in aprons showing the other guys how to make steak, roasted potatoes and asparagus. Samantha was demonstrating how to make a hollandaise-ish sauce much to everyones delight.

"Ok, so you need to separate the egg yokes for the sauce, but we are going to retain the whites for dessert" explained Samantha in her best Julia Child voice.

Matt tossed 2 eggs at Samantha who deftly caught them cracking them in one hand and straining the whites out with the other. Once everything was separated she started to whisk the egg yokes until they were creamy.

"So what is this sauce for?" asked Nick.

"It's going to be for the steaks and the asparagus" said Samantha.

"I don't like asparagus" said Norman.

"Well you'll love mine or your money back" replied Samantha.

The cooking lesson continued and soon the sauce was made and sitting on the stove on a double boiler, the steaks and asparagus were under the broiler and Samantha was working hard on making meringues for dessert.

"You know I'm pretty sure we have a hand mixer in that kitchen" said Edgar.

"That's ok, I can do it faster this way" said Samantha.

"No you can't" said Edgar.

"Really I can" replied Samantha.

"Ok, lets prove it" said Edgar getting up.

Samantha stopped her whisking and watched Edgar root around in the kitchen until he found what he was looking for. Pulling out a hand mixer he got himself a bowl and cracked two egg whites into it.

"On your marks, get set, go" said Sig.

Samantha went back to her whisking going no faster than she had been before. Edgar meanwhile furiously turned the bowl and the mixer causing the contents to spill over the sides. Samantha and Edgar raced for about 7 more minutes before Samantha turned her bowl upside down proving her whites where at a perfect peak. Edgar did the same and the entire contents of the bowl poured onto the floor.

"I win" said Samantha.

"No shit" was Edgar's response.

"How did you learn to do that?" asked Matt.

"When I was at the CIA, we spent an entire week working on whisking, I can make a great homemade mayonnaise, I can whip cream, and I can whip egg whites as fast as any of my classmates" said Samantha proudly.

"Why would the CIA care if you can cook?" asked Sig.

"Oh Sig, she means the Culinary school not the government agency" said Edgar smugly.

Sig frowned at his brother.

"Don't feel bad Sig, he thought the same thing when I told him" said Samantha.

"Don't stick up for him" said Edgar.

"Your parents must be so proud" said Matt.

"They are, I guess. I do come in handy on holidays" said Samantha.

"Do you see them a lot?" asked Matt.

Samantha didn't say anything. A moment later the timer rang and she and Matt pullied dinner out from under the broiler. Everyone pitched in to set the table and even Jake was allowed to come down from the wheelhouse to eat with everyone.

"This is so awesome" said Matt. "Thanks for making my favorite."

"You're welcome" said Samantha.

"Hey, I want you to make my favorite" said Jake.

"What's your favorite?" asked Samantha.

"Lasagna" said Jake.

"I can easily make that, how about for dinner tomorrow" said Samantha. "In fact I suppose if the ingredients are on this boat I can make everyones favorite dinner."

There was much discussion as to what was available and what everyone wanted Samantha to cook for their special meal.

Later as Samantha was washing up Sig came into the kitchen and grabbed a towel to help her dry. He easily dried the dishes and stacked them in their proper places. When the last dish was washed Samantha turned to help Sig finish the last of the drying.

"I can finish it myself" said Sig.

"I know, but I'm sure you'd rather be doing something else than helping me dry the dishes" said Samantha.

"We all pitch in around here" said Sig as an explanation.

"Ok, well thank you" said Samantha.

"By the way we are going to head out of here in a few hours. The storm has basically passed over so it's safe enough to head back towards the grounds" said Sig.

"When will we get to the grounds?" asked Samantha.

"Around day break, we'll start fishing at first light" said Sig.

"Will it still be yucky outside?" asked Samantha.

"Probably. The bulk of the storm is gone, I can't waste anymore time sitting around with my thumb up my ass. We need to start fishing" said Sig.

"How's your shoulder?" asked Samantha.

"It's still sore, but lucky for me I'm not pulling pots on deck. A sore shoulder isn't going to stop me from driving the boat" said Sig. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I have a big bruise on my back but other than that nothing" said Samantha.

"Let me see this bruise" replied Sig.

"Ok" said Samantha.

She turned around and lifted her t-shirt, Sig's hands took the fabric and pulled it higher so he could see the whole of her back. The bruise was on her lower left side and was a very nasty black and blue. Holding her shirt in one hand Sig brushed his fingers against her abused flesh.

"Does that hurt?" asked Sig.

"No" replied Samantha.

"How about now?" asked Sig pressing harder.

"A little" said Samantha.

"Go ask Edgar to give you some icy hot for it, that should make your back feel better" said Sig.

"Go ask me for what?" said Edgar walking into the galley.

"Put some icy hot on her, she's got a huge bruise on her back" said Sig.

"Come with me. Dr. Edgar is in the house" said Edgar pulling Samantha to him.

"Good luck" called Sig to Samantha's retreating back.

Edgar walked into his stateroom with Samantha. Norman was sitting on his bunk reading a book, he looked up briefly then returned to his reading. Edgar sat Samantha down on his bunk and went to retrieve the salve.

"What are you reading?" asked Samantha.

"I hope they have beer in hell" replied Norman. "A fan sent it to us, it's hilarious."

"I've heard it's a good read" said Samantha.

Norman just nodded. Edgar reentered the room with a large container of icy hot cream.

"Ok, take off your shirt and lay down" said Edgar.

"Do you want me to leave?" asked Norman.

"No, you know how I love an audience" said Edgar.

Samantha buried her head in her hands a blush staining her cheeks.

"Come on Antha, off with the shirt" demanded Edgar.

Samantha sighed and pulled her t-shirt over her head. She was clad in a bright pink bra and a pair of yoga pants. Edgar took a step closer and arranged her on the bed. Taking a dollop of cream he spread it over her bruised flank.

"That stuff smells terrible" said Samantha.

"But it will make you feel so much better" said Edgar his hands gliding over her skin.

Samantha laid still letting Edgar's hands wander over the dips and valleys of her spine. When all the lotion was spread into the bruised area his hands drifted up to her shoulders and he began to massage them. Samantha melted into the bed, becoming nothing more than a boneless heap of flesh. Edgar's strong hands drew tension and tightness out of her muscles making her sigh softly as each knot came loose. Edgar for his part enjoyed the feeling of soft feminine skin under his work worn hands and was hesitant to draw the massage to a close. Samantha turned her head to the side and closed her eyes a small smile spread across her face. Edgar's strong strokes soon turned into gentle caresses, but by that time Samantha was fast asleep.

"She's asleep" whispered Edgar.

"So? Move her to her own bunk" said Norman.

"I don't want to wake her up" said Edgar.

"Then sleep with her, she's tiny probably won't even take up that much room" said Norman.

"I'll leave her here for now. I gotta see what time Sig's going to want us up and what the watch order is" said Edgar.

"I'll keep an eye on her" said Norman sarcastically.

"Yeah, you do that" said Edgar.

An hour or so later Edgar returned to his stateroom, Samantha was still fast asleep only instead of being flat on her stomach she was curled into a tight ball. Edgar sighed and crawled into the bed behind her spooning up against her curled body. Slipping an arm around her waist he pulled her close to him, her body relaxing into his. They slept in that position until it was Edgar's turn at watch.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Two chapters in one day is a first for me. But inspiration hit and I had to get it down. Please note that any medical advice given in this story is purely to move the story forward, although some research has been done it's all in the name of fiction.

Edgar woke up as his internal clock told him it was time for his turn at watch. He opened his eyes to find Antha in the exact same position she'd been in the night before. Edgar easily slipped from the bed taking care to cover her up with the blanket. Walking up to the wheelhouse he grabbed a cup of coffee and a meringue to tide him over until breakfast. Norman was sitting in the captain's chair looking out into the inky night.

"Hey Norman" said Edgar.

"Hey" he replied.

Norman slipped out of the captain's chair and Edgar slid into it. Normally this was the only time they ever really talked since the Discovery crew was fast asleep.

"How's it going?" asked Edgar.

"The weather is still pretty shitty. Confused seas and driving rain" said Norman.

"It's going to be hell to work in" replied Edgar.

"Maybe it will be better when we get to the first set of pots" said Norman pointing at the plotter.

"Possibly, although I don't get why Sig thinks there will be crab there. There hasn't been a crab there for the last 3 years" said Edgar.

"Maybe he thinks it's due" said Norman.

"Hopefully it is, the sooner we get this first trip out of the way the better" said Edgar.

"I would think you liked having Antha on the boat. Everyone gets to enjoy three hearty meals without listening to Matt bitch about making them. She's doing the laundry for Christ's sake, I mean when have we ever had clean clothes this often" said Norman.

Edgar grunted noncommittally.

"You know you like it. But I understand how having her on here is just added worry" said Norman.

"Yeah, like when she disappeared into the stacks" said Edgar. "I think she gave me a few gray hairs."

"I think I see a few more than last trip" said Norman teasingly.

"Anyway, the point is I just want to get this trip over with before the guys get too use to being mothered and start bitching about not having fresh towels when Antha's gone" said Edgar.

"I don't want to be put on laundry duty" said Norman firmly.

"Exactly my point" said Edgar.

"But I am going to enjoy it while it lasts" said Norman with a smile.

Samantha woke slowly, she rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. She knew she wasn't in her bunk because the ceiling was much farther away. The events of the night before came rushing back. She looked down and realized that she still just wearing her pink bra. Immediately she cast her eyes around until she found her shirt, then she slipped it on. Sitting up she was greatly relieved that she was alone in the room. Getting up she headed to the bathroom to freshen up and then into the galley to make breakfast. The crew was up within the hour and breakfast was piping hot and on the table. After everyone finished eating it was time to head out on deck. Edgar pulled Samantha aside and gave her a very careworn baseball hat.

"Put this on" said Edgar.

"Why?" asked Samantha.

"Because I want to keep you as dry as possible and if you aren't wearing a hat and the hood of the raingear comes off your hair is going to get wet" explained Edgar.

"I don't think it's going to fit over the ponytail" said Samantha.

"Then change your hair" said Edgar. "You need to wear the hat."

"Fine" said Samantha petulantly.

She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and shook it slightly, then she haphazardly braided it. For a brief moment Edgar thought she looked strangely familiar with her hair down, but quickly dismissed the thought. He had other things to worry about than who Antha reminded him of. With the hat securely on her head she and the rest of the crew headed out on deck.

The first pot over the rail was empty, as was the second and the third. Sig swore in the wheelhouse, angry that once again the sand bank had proven to be a complete waste of time. He watched as fishing slowed because the pots had to be stacked back on the boat. The weather was still dismal, but the waves seemed to be decreasing in size and frequency. But even that small favor wasn't enough to lift Sig's spirits. The rest of the day went on with blank pots and an increasingly surly crew. Samantha decided that perhaps lunch was in order, so after asking Edgar if it was ok, she headed inside. The first thing she did was brew a fresh pot of coffee, then she started to work on making Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. Taking out her sharpest knife she sliced down a few steaks into tiny ribbons of meat. Throwing those on the flat top she chopped a few onions and got some cheese out of the fridge. Sig smelled the aroma of lunch in the wheelhouse and decided that maybe his outlook on life would be better after something to eat. He called the crew inside, set the boat on autopilot and headed down to the galley. Everyone was in a pretty nasty mood when they walked in, however no one was able to stay upset after tasting the delicious lunch.

"These are awesome, where did you learn to make them?" asked Matt.

"Actually I've never made them before, but I've eaten Philly cheesesteaks lots of time so it wasn't hard to figure out what's in them" replied Samantha.

"I've been to Philly and these are just as good as any I had there" said Edgar.

"Thanks for the compliment" said Samantha.

Once lunch was finished everyone headed back to work. Samantha stayed inside until the dishes were finished then joined the crew out on deck.

The later pots in the string had sporadic crab in them, so Edgar was able to show Samantha how to sort. At first Samantha refused to put her hands anywhere near the table for fear of one of the crab taking off a finger. Edgar patiently showed her what to do then when she refused to pick it up he threatened to throw her overboard.

"Fine, I'll pick the stupid thing up" said Samantha.

She picked up the crab just as Edgar had suggested and turned it towards her.

"Hello, cake. How are you today?" said Samantha in a sticky sweet voice.

"What are you doing?" asked Edgar laughingly.

"I'm talking to crab cake" said Samantha.

"Are you going to name all the crab we catch?" asked Edgar.

"Well if we catch them at this rate I probably could" said Samantha.

"Ouch. Don't let Sig hear you say that" said Edgar. "Throw crab cake in the tank and lets dump the by-catch."

The next few pots had a smattering of crab and Samantha did her best to name each one. There was drawn butter, lemon, Louie, salad and patty. The whole crew was laughing hysterically at the names and it made for a lighthearted approach to a rotten day of fishing. They were 5 pots away from finishing the string when Sig cut the engine to the boat and called Edgar to the wheelhouse.

Edgar didn't even bother drying off, he walked up the outside ladder and into the wheelhouse dripping water all over the floor. Sig was already standing when Edgar walked in.

"What's up?" asked Edgar.

"I think we have line wrapped around the prop" said Sig.

"What the hell got run over?" asked Edgar.

"A pot, some random line, I don't know, but the point is that something is on the damn prop and I can't steer" barked Sig.

"Can you make it back to Dutch?" asked Edgar.

"We've already wasted so much time and I'm not sure if I can properly steer the boat in this weather" said Sig.

"So basically were fucked" said Edgar.

"Lets send Antha down to check it out" said Sig.

"You can't be serious" said Edgar in disbelief.

"Why not? John said she is a professional diver, it will be a piece of cake for her. We have the gear, the wetsuit will probably fit, it's not really that cold out there and all she has to do is find out what's wrong" said Sig.

"You're sure we can't make it back to Dutch?" asked Edgar.

"I'm sure" said Sig.

"Well then she's our only hope" said Edgar.

He walked out of the wheelhouse and yelled for Antha to come up. She trudged up the ladder into the wheelhouse and found both Sig and Edgar smoking cigarettes and looking grim.

"What's up?" asked Samantha.

"We need to use your expertise to get us out of a jam" said Sig.

"What do you want me to cook?" asked Samantha.

"Not cooking, diving" said Sig.

Samantha said nothing, at no time had she ever mentioned diving to anyone on the boat and she was confused as to what they expected her to be able to do.

"I don't understand" said Samantha.

"There is probably a line of rope wrapped around the propeller of the boat. We want you to dive down there and find out" said Sig.

"You're insane" said Samantha.

"John told us you were a certified diver. Did you lie?" accused Sig.

"No, I'm a certified diver, but a pleasure diver. I've done dives in tropical water like St. Barts and the Cayman Islands. I've never been on a cold water dive, I don't know how my body will react" said Samantha.

"It will be fine, we have all the gear. You will be in the water for an hour tops" said Sig.

"I don't want to do it" said Samantha.

"You are the only one on the boat who can do it. This is going to make or break our season. If you were really a fan you'd do this for us, for me" said Sig.

Samantha just stood there with her mouth hanging open. She couldn't believe what Sig had just said. He was going to make her put her life on the line because he thought she was a fan of the show.

"No" said Samantha.

"Ok this is how it works on this boat. I'm the captain, I'm in charge. What I want I get. You are going to get suited up and take a look at my propeller because I say so. When I agreed to do this fan contest there was one thing I asked for. To have total control over whoever came on the boat, that they would be required to listen to me and follow my orders. This is an order" said Sig his voice going dangerously quiet.

Samantha was seething, she didn't know what to say or do.

"Edgar, take her downstairs and get her suited up. If she refuses, throw her overboard" said Sig.

Edgar smiled sadly at Samantha then took her by the arm leading her back outside and down the stairs.

An hour later Samantha was on the deck of the Northwestern wearing a wetsuit that was too big for her. Nick was wrapping duct tape around her ankles and wrists in an attempt to make it waterproof. Samantha hadn't said a word to anyone but had put the suit on and checked the gear. She was so ridiculously upset that it took all her strength to keep herself from bursting into tears.

"Ok, here's how it's going to work" said Edgar. "Are you listening?"

Samantha nodded.

"We are going to lower the skiff into the water, Norman is going to be in the boat with you. You'll have a lead line on so we will be able to pull you back to the boat if you need help. Don't swim too close to the bottom of the boat, it's going to be moving up and down in the ocean. All you need to do is go down there and see if there is line around the propeller. Just look and come back up" said Edgar.

"What if there is line around it?" asked Samantha.

"Then you'll get a knife and cut it off" said Edgar.

"Wouldn't it just be simpler to give me the knife right away so I can get started. The air in the tank is limited to an hour given my breathing rate. It would take more time for me to come up and tell you the line is caught and then go back down then to just go down once and cut the line" said Samantha.

"If you are comfortable with doing that, then it's fine with me" said Edgar.

"I'm not comfortable doing any of this" said Samantha. "But my idea makes more sense."

"Let me get you a knife" said Edgar.

Edgar got a knife and Samantha secured it on her diving belt. Once she'd checked the gear on last time she, Eric the camera guy and Norman loaded into the boat and were lowered into the choppy ocean. Edgar watched nervously as Norman rowed away from the boat towards the rear. Norman handed her something then turned the skiff so she could flip over the side closest to the Northwestern. Samantha flipped into the water and all that was left was a trail of bubbles. Edgar started the stopwatch. She'd have about an hour before the air ran out. He said a prayer to any deity listening to keep her safe. Up in the wheelhouse Sig watched the progress out of the window, when Samantha splashed into the water he begin his own timer. He hoped sending her down there wasn't a mistake.

Samantha felt like her heart was going to explode. The cold water was already filling her lousy fitting suit making her cold. The water was murky and dark. Pulling the flashlight off her belt she turned it on and started swimming towards what she hoped was the right end of the boat. Large shapes loomed just out of focus and for a moment Samantha's heart skipped a beat as she imagined the shapes as some horrible animal about to attack her. As it turned out the shape was the propellor with a huge tangle of rope around it. With a determined chin she set out to cut through it. Wielding the knife was complicated by the gloves she was wearing, she debated taking them off but decided against it. She was going to be in the water a long time and her hands would get waterlogged and useless before she was done cutting the first layer of rope. Starting with the trailing end she sliced through the thick rope one layer at a time. It was slow going, the cold water made her shiver which made her sawing slower and less precise. Also it was impossible to hold the flashlight at the same time so she was cutting the rope in the dark. The digital watch on her wrist ticked by the minutes but Samantha paid it no notice. She was singularly focused on cutting through the rope as quick as possible. She was almost to the last layer of rope when the timer on the watch started to beep. Samantha ignored it for the time being, the tank had reserve air in it and she knew she wasn't far from the surface so she continued cutting.

On the surface everyone's alarms had gone off. Edgar, Norman and Sig all looked at their watches and then turned their attention to the water. In the boat Norman decided to give her another two minute befores he physically pulled her out of the water using the rope.

"Norman, how much extra time does she have in the tank?" asked Eric.

In an uncharacteristic move Norman answered him.

"I don't know, maybe 10 minutes. It depends on how hard she's breathing. If she's calm then the air in the tank will last longer if not then she'll go through it faster" said Norman.

"What are you going to do if she doesn't come up?" asked Eric.

"Pull her up or go down and get her" said Norman.

The timer sounded again and Norman began pulling the rope up hand over hand.

Under the water Samantha felt the rope begin to pull at her waist. She was almost finished, only 2 sections of rope left to cut. The tug at the rope began to get more insistent, she tried to pull back but she was no match for Norman's strength. She started to get pulled away from the prop and in a desperate bid to finish the job she cut the line anchoring her to the skiff. Once free of the distraction she hurried to cut through the rest of the line.

Norman felt the rope lighten and smiled as he imagined Antha was probably swimming along the line towards the boat. He pulled hand over hand until the end of the rope appeared before his eyes. Everyone on deck froze staring at the cut line in Norman's hand. Without a second thought Norman sat down and removed his boots and rain gear, in nothing but sweats and a sweatshirt he stood ready to jump overboard when Samantha breached the surface of the water. Norman sat back down with a thud. Removing her breathing mouth piece she gasped for fresh air.

"You weren't thinking of coming in after me were you? Because it's really really cold in here" said Samantha breathlessly.

Norman said nothing, he couldn't, his heart was hammering in his throat. Instead he reached over the side of the boat and with Herculean strength pulled Samantha into the skiff. By the time the skiff was back on deck Samantha was shivering violently. The wetsuit had done little to keep her dry or warm. Edgar pulled her out of the boat and carried her to the ready room. There he and Matt stripped her out of the wetsuit and started rubbing her with towels. Samantha's lips were blue and her skin was a pale gray color.

"We need to get her warm" said Edgar. "Jake throw some towels in the dryer. We need to warm her up slowly." Sig met the guys inside the galley and his heart dropped as he took in Samantha's shivering body.

"Well?" he asked.

"The ropes off" said Samantha just before she threw up on the galley floor.

"Shit, lets get her in the shower" said Edgar.

Edgar stood in the shower in his boxer shorts holding Samantha under the cool spray, every few minutes Matt would adjust the temperature slightly higher. Edgar himself was shivering against the cool water, but if Samantha's skin temperature was any indication of how cold she was then she needed to be warmed up very slowly to prevent her body from going into shock. Jake periodically took Samantha's oral temperature. It took almost an hour in the shower for Samantha's temperature to reach 95. Once she was deemed warm enough Edgar handed her off the Nick who wrapped her in dryer warmed towels and dried her off. Carrying her into the stateroom he pulled out a pair of flannel pajamas from her bag and quickly dressed her. Sig stood in the doorway watching silently. When Nick moved to put Samantha in a bunk Sig finally spoke.

"Put her in my room. It has a better heater and the bed is bigger" he said.

"Roger" replied Nick.

Nick carried her up to Sig's room holding her patiently while Jake laid hot blankets on the bed before Nick lay her down. She was crying silently, tears leaking heavily out of the corners of her closed eyes. Sig could only imagine the pain of reheating an entire body after being in the water for over an hour. Nick stood at her bedside unwilling to leave her alone but unsure if Sig wanted him to stay.

"You can go, I'll sit with her" said Sig his eyes never leaving Samantha's face.

"Ok, I'll let the guys know what's up" said Nick.

Edgar arrived a few minutes later with Norman in tow. They both looked at Samantha's still shivering form and frowned.

"Why is she still shivering?" asked Edgar.

"The suit didn't fit her right. It was too big" said Norman. "She was probably already in stage two hypothermia before she came out of the water."

"I never should have made her go" said Sig.

Neither Norman or Edgar chose to respond, they knew Sig already felt horrible about his decision to pressure Samantha into the water, but it was done and there was no way to take anything back.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N:Thank you for all the reviews. I hope you will continue to read and review.

Sig sat in vigil at the side of the bed, watching the steady rise and fall of Samatha's chest. Her color was coming back to her cheeks but as it returned so did large purple bruises under her eyes and small red pinpricks around her cheeks. Edgar had called the clinic in Dutch, described Samantha's symptoms and was told that she'd probably suffered some sort of asphyxiation. The red dots were petechia, burst capillaries caused by a lack of oxygen. They were told to let her rest and that if she isn't showing signs of breathing difficulties her body would probably repair itself given time. Edgar relayed the information to Sig.

"Why would she stay under if she was out of air?" asked Sig.

"Because she felt pressured to get the job done" replied Edgar.

"God, I feel like an ass. I never should have ordered her to go" said Sig.

"Yeah, that was kind of a douche thing to do" said Edgar.

Sig gave him a look that clearly stated the comment was unnecessary.

"So what do you want us to do now?" asked Edgar.

"Finish the string" said Sig.

Edgar turned around and started to walk out the door. Turning around he saw that Sig hadn't moved.

"Are you coming? Or is the boat going to drive itself?"asked Edgar.

"We should have someone sit with her?" said Sig.

"Is that someone you?" said Edgar.

"No, send Junior in here. We aren't baiting these pots just picking them up. He won't be missed too much on deck" said Sig.

"That's fine, we only have 5 pots left. It shouldn't take use too long" said Edgar.

"Yeah, lets go and finish this string" said Sig.

Sig didn't leave until Jake took his place next to Samantha on the bed.

"Ok Junior, if anything changes call me. Don't leave her side" said Sig.

"Roger" said Jake.

Jake sat next to Samantha idly playing with the frayed edge of one of the blankets. He wondered why Sig didn't have a TV in his room, that would have made babysitting a little less boring. His head started to nod slightly and eventually his eyes closed completely and he slumped over landing squarely on Samantha's shoulder. This was enough to wake her from her slumber.

"Jake, you're smushing me" murmured Samantha.

"Antha, oh my God you're awake" said Jake.

"Just for a second, I'm still tired" said Samantha. "Do you want to get in so you can sleep too?"

"Sure, I'm suppose to be watching you but I assume if you wake up again you'll just wake me up" said Jake.

"Sounds like a plan" said Samantha.

She moved over slightly to make room for Jake in the bed. Once he was settled Samantha fell back into sleep.

Pulling pots a man down was tough, pulling pots when everyone on the deck was thinking about an injured member of the fishing family was impossible. No one was concentrating especially Sig. They were pulling 5 pots which should have taken a couple hours at the most, however it had been almost 3 hours and they still had 2 pots to go. Sig was driving the boat like a drunk guy trying to find his way out of a closet. Even Norman was a little off his game. All Edgar wanted to do was finish these last two pots and go inside. The next pot appeared on the bow and Sig announced it to the crew. Edgar threw the hook catching the line on his first try. Pulling up the pot it had 5 crab in it, they were quickly sorted and the pot was slowly stacked on the deck. One pot to go and Edgar couldn't be happier to get this string done. When the final pot was pulled up it contained 1 keeper, when everything was finished down on deck Edgar told the guys they could head in. Everyone dragged their feet getting inside.

"What is going on with all of you?" asked Edgar. "We just took forever to pull 5 pots, I would think you guys just want to stay out here enjoying the weather."

"Sorry Edgar" said Matt. "We're just worried about Antha."

"Then why don't we go inside and see her. She's probably still resting. She'll be fine, she just needs time to recuperate" said Edgar.

"Yeah, I got to make lunch" said Matt. "Do you think Antha will wake up to eat something?"

"I have no idea. Make her some soup of something" said Edgar.

Matt snickered to himself imagining serving the 11 year old can of noodle soup to Antha.

The moment the guys were off deck Sig set a course to their next set of pots and headed down to check on Antha. He met Edgar in the hallway and sent Nick up to keep an eye on the wheelhouse. Edgar and Sig walked into the stateroom and their jaws dropped as they saw Jake cuddled into bed with Antha.

"Jake, what the hell do you think you're doing?" yelled Sig.

"Oh, sorry. I was tired and Antha said I could climb in with her" said Jake.

"How exactly did she do that? You know just because she didn't say no when you climbed in does not mean she invited you in" said Edgar.

"No, she woke up for a minute" said Jake.

"Why didn't you come and get me?" barked Sig. "I told you to get me if anything changed and her waking up is that kind of change I'd like to be informed of."

The berating continued for a few more minutes before Samantha had heard enough.

"Can you keep it down, some of us are trying to recover from almost dying over here" she said.

"How are you feeling?" asked Sig after all but dragging Jake out of the bed.

"Everything hurts" replied Samantha.

Sig frowned and cast his eyes around the room looking for something that could make her feel better.

"And I'm thirsty and I need to go to the bathroom" added Samantha.

"I'll get you water and some meds" said Edgar.

"Can you get up?" asked Sig.

"Well I don't think so" said Samantha.

"Why? What's hurt?" asked Sig his voice panicking.

"Nothing. But you are sitting on the blankets so I can't get out of bed" said Samantha.

"Right" said Sig.

He stood up and pulled the blankets off of Samantha's still prone body. Holding out his hand he helped her sit up and then stand up. She was slightly shaky on her feet but Sig steadied her by holding her around the waist and led her into the bathroom. He left her just as she'd left him the day before.

"Do you need any help?" asked Sig.

"No, I think I'll be fine" said Samantha.

"Ok, call me if you need me. I'll be right out here" said Sig closing the door.

Samantha finished going to the bathroom and then looked at herself in the mirror. She had huge purple bruises under her eyes, looking away she washed her face and pulled her fingers through her hair in an attempt to detangle it. Giving up on her hair she left it down and opened the door. Sig was waiting right outside the door and she watched him appraise her critically for moment.

"Your hair looks really pretty when it's down" commented Sig.

"Thanks" said Samantha.

Sig moved Samantha back to the bed and sat her down. Samantha sat indian style on Sig's bed with him sitting next to her.

"Why did you stay down so long?" asked Sig.

Edgar had just entered the room and handed Samantha her bottle of water and a handful of pills.

"I was almost done" said Samantha.

"When did you run out of air?" asked Sig.

"On the swim back to the boat" answered Samantha.

"You could have died" said Sig simply.

"I didn't want to have to go back down again" said Samantha.

"What do you mean? We wouldn't have made you go back down" said Sig.

"You are such a liar. You threatened me in order to make me dive in the first place. I have no doubt that if I hadn't gotten the rope off on that dive I would have been sent back down. I was already freezing and I didn't want to go back in the water once I got out" said Samantha.

"I wouldn't have made you go back in" said Sig.

"You would have" said Samantha.

"I wouldn't have" said Sig.

"Whatever. It's over now" said Samantha. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure" said Sig.

"Why did you agree to do this?" asked Samantha.

"Do what?" asked Sig.

"Agree to have a fan on your boat" said Samantha.

"Funny story" said Sig.

"He was drunk at a Discovery event and agreed to it. He didn't even remember" said Edgar.

"Thank you" said Sig with a glare at Edgar.

"What event?" asked Samantha.

"It was the preview of the season, Discovery shows us the first show and hosts a little party" explained Sig.

"Really" said Samantha in disbelief.

"What?" said Sig defensively.

"It's just I didn't really imagine you being so drunk that you would agree to let a fan on your boat without asking a million questions about legality and liability. Are you sure you even agreed to this?" asked Samantha leadingly.

Sig looked confused for a moment then he leveled an angry gaze at Samantha.

"What are you talking about?" he asked angrily.

"I think that John tricked you into taking me on the boat" said Samantha.

"Why would you think that?" asked Sig.

"Because if you don't remember being violently opposed to this idea from the first suggestion then I don't believe you were asked at all" said Samantha.

"Who do you think you are? You're a fan, you see only what is shown on TV, don't think that you know who I am" said Sig.

Samantha debated for a moment about revealing herself, but decided if she was going to save any future fans from themselves and Sig from being sued she was going to have to.

"I think I know you better than most" said Samantha.

"Oh really? How so?" asked Sig.

"Because I'm not just a fan" said Samantha.

"What are you talking about" said Sig.

"Do you really think that Discovery would hold a fan contest and you wouldn't be aware of it? That you wouldn't have been given some sort of input or the choice of the fan?" asked Samantha.

Sig was silent.

"What else did I do on my tape?" asked Samantha. "Did I explain about why I wanted to be on the boat?"

"You were just doing aerobics, there was no interview or anything" said Sig.

"Doesn't that seem weird to you?" asked Samantha.

"It does now" said Sig.

"Antha, please save us the Sherlock Holmes act and tell us what's going on" said Edgar.

"I'm not a fan, I work for Discovery. In fact you've all met me a few times at various events, including the one where you allegedly drunkenly agreed to hosting this fan contest" said Samantha.

"So you're a plant" said Sig angrily.

"No, I'm the test subject. I'm sure John wanted to make sure that this idea would work before he subjected a real fan to working on a crab boat. He picked me because I'm small, allegedly weak, a woman and the person who you'd probably be most opposed to. Then later when the real fan wins, it will probably be a guy and you won't be so opposed to the real fan. But what he doesn't realize is that I trained for this little adventure and I've seen every single minute of tape that has come off this boat for the last 2 years. I probably know this boat and you guys better than anyone outside of the actual camera guys. No fan would know as much as I do and they would be completely unprepared to come out here" said Samantha.

"I've never met anyone named Antha" said Edgar.

"No, but you've probably met a Samantha, with brown hair and glasses" said Samantha.

Edgar and Sig both stared hard at Samantha examining her features and looking for similarities between the girl sitting before them and the one they've met before.

"I'm going to fucking kill him" said Sig while rushing out the door.

"It's the hair" said Edgar. "I would never had pictured you with red hair."

"Yeah, that was part of the requirements set forth by John. I had to change my hair, I had to be unrecognizable to all of you. On the upside I got lasik so I won't need glasses anymore" said Samantha.

"I should check on Sig" said Edgar.

"Wait, I want to come too" said Samantha.

Sig was already on the phone when Edgar and Samantha made it to the wheelhouse. Although clearly no one had picked up yet because Sig was ranting and raving to himself. Samantha slipped forward and took a seat in the port side chair while Edgar moved to sit on the bench seat behind Sig.

"I want to talk to John, now" said Sig.

Sig put the phone on speaker and set the phone on the desk.

"Sig, it's John. How's everything going?" said John.

"John, I almost killed the fan today" said Sig.

"What happened?" asked John.

"She did a dive for us and ran out of air. She surfaced by herself but she barely made it" said Sig. "I think you may have over exaggerated her diving skills."

"Is she ok?" asked John his voice faintly concerned.

"She will be. But I just wanted to tell you what happened in case she decides to sue" said Sig.

"She won't sue. She can't, she has a contract" said John dismissively.

This was just the opening Sig needed.

"A contract? Does she work for you?" asked Sig.

"Did she tell you that?" asked John, his voice revealing his anger.

"I never agreed to this stupid contest did I?" said Sig angrily.

"Of course you did" said John.

"No I didn't" said Sig angrily.

"You did at that party, why would you bring this up now?" asked John.

"Perhaps I've just had my memory jogged. In fact I must say that I've had a very enlightening day" said Sig.

"Tell Samantha she's fired. She violated the terms of our contract" said John haughtily.

"What are you talking about?" asked Sig.

"She'll know what it's about" said John. "Ask her."

John abruptly hung up the phone. Sig turned around to ask Samantha what was going on but she was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thank you again for all the wonderful reviews.

Sig started to get out of his seat to go after Samantha when Edgar stopped him. The whole situation seemed to turn the boat on it's axis, they'd been duped by both John and Samantha.

"I'll go see if she's ok" said Edgar. "After all she still may be mad at her for trying to kill her earlier."

"I did not try to kill her" said Sig angrily.

"Fine, whatever you want to call it. Take some time to get your head straight and work out some of your anger" said Edgar.

"How do you suggest I do that?" asked Sig.

"Take it out on the camera guy" suggested Edgar.

Sig turned a malevolent glare on Eric who happened to be filming in the wheelhouse. Edgar took the opportunity to slip out of the wheelhouse to find Samantha.

"Did you know about this?" asked Sig.

"No, I swear we thought she was a fan just like everyone else did" said Eric.

"But you must have met her before, she edits all the tapes you send in" said Sig.

"I've maybe talked to her on the phone but that's it. We have no contact with the editors except maybe at parties. But I don't remember ever meeting her" said Eric.

Sig gave Eric a hard look then looked outside at the setting sun.

"What are you going to do with her now?" asked Eric.

"Do with her? We are in the middle of a trip, what do you suggest I do with her?" countered Sig.

"I mean are you going to keep her inside, put her in a life raft and have someone else come pick her up, you know what are you going to do with her?" said Eric.

"You have a very vivid imagination. I suppose I could chain her to your bed if you want" quipped Sig.

"I don't have a bed" replied Eric.

"Too bad" said Sig.

"Yeah, it has been a bummer" said Eric.

"To answer your questions, she'll stay on the boat as planned, she can help out if she wants to and when we offload she'll get off" said Sig.

"That sounds fair" said Eric.

"How much money do you think she makes?" asked Sig.

"I have no idea, probably more than we do" said Eric. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because she just got fired. I wonder how she'll make ends meet" said Sig.

"Oh, well didn't you say she was a dancer or something. Maybe she can go back to doing that" said Eric.

"She's an aerobic instructor. Do they make a lot of money?" asked Sig.

"Again, I have no idea" replied Eric.

"Eric, you are absolutely no help" said Sig.

Eric shrugged and adjusted the camera, wondering if any of this season would end up in the show.

Meanwhile Edgar made it as far as the galley. He'd been stopped by Jake, Matt and Nick who demanded to know what was going on with Antha. Edgar had asked where she was and was told she was outside with Norman. Knowing Norman would take care of her he told the guys the whole sordid tale.

"So she works at Discovery. That makes so much more sense" said Matt.

"What do you mean?" asked Edgar.

"Well I wondered how she supported herself on the pay of an aerobic instructor. I mean they can't make that much" explained Matt.

"Yeah, well I hope they make something because John fired her" said Edgar.

"What? No wonder she was upset" said Nick.

"Was she really upset?" asked Edgar.

"Kind of, we just assumed Sig had yelled at her or something" said Jake.

"Why did he fire her?" asked Nick.

"She broke her contract when she told us she worked for Discovery" said Edgar.

"Why did she tell you?" asked Nick.

"Because she thought it was important for us to know what was going on. I'm not sure why now and not in the beginning" said Edgar.

"Maybe it was the near death experience" said Nick.

"Possibly" said Edgar with a sigh.

"Do you think she'll be up for making dinner?" asked Matt.

"Who knows" said Edgar. "I'm going outside to check on her."

"Alright, I'll start dinner. Jake do you still want Lasagna?" asked Matt.

"Yeah, but I want Antha to make it" said Jake.

"Can we still call her Antha or should we call her by her real name?" asked Nick.

"I don't know, I'm sure you can call her whatever you want. Antha, Samantha, Sam she'll probably answer to all of them" said Edgar looking slightly annoyed.

Edgar walked out of the galley leaving the guys looking slightly stunned at his abrupt exit.

"What crawled up his ass and died?" asked Matt.

Nick and Jake just shrugged in response and turned back to the movie they were watching.

Outside on deck Edgar glanced around searching for where Norman and Antha were sitting. He spotted Norman coming out of one of the little nooks where they kept the cigarettes. Norman walked around to the small space where Antha was sitting between two large metal pipes. Edgar followed him.

"Hey, has Norman been taking good care of you?" asked Edgar.

"Yes, he's been blessedly silent the entire time we've been out here" said Samantha. "Just a slightly bony shoulder to cry on."

"Please tell me you haven't been crying" said Edgar.

At the comment Norman punched Edgar in the arm, gave Antha a kiss on the cheek and walked inside.

"So what if I've been crying. It was really only a little at the shock of it all" said Samantha.

"Sorry, it doesn't matter if you're crying or not" said Edgar.

"Do you want to sit down or are you going to deliver a lecture?" asked Samantha.

"No lecture" said Edgar.

Samantha picked up the cigarettes and scooted over slightly to give Edgar some room. She reached into the pack of smokes and extracted one. The moment the cigarette was at her lips Edgar lit it. Samantha took a long drag and leaned her head back against one of the pipes closing her eyes.

"How many of those have you had?" asked Edgar.

"I don't know, a few" said Samantha.

"Too many will make you sick" said Edgar.

"Oh yeah? How many does it take to make you sick?" asked Samantha.

"When I was little, just one" said Edgar.

"Oh really? How old were you?" asked Samantha.

"I was 6, stole it from my dad. And it made me sick as a dog" said Edgar.

"Poor thing and yet you still didn't learn your lesson" said Samantha teasingly.

"Yes I'm a bit hard headed" said Edgar.

"I think it's a trait all your brothers have" said Samantha.

"Why did John fire you?" asked Edgar.

"Because I told you that I worked for Discovery and basically blew his whole deception" said Samantha.

"Why did you agree to come out here?" asked Edgar.

"I asked for 3 times my salary" said Samantha. "But now I don't suppose I'll get any of it. Breach of contract is probably pretty hard to fight."

"What are you going to do now?" asked Edgar.

"Right now? At this instant? I'm just going to stay on the boat until we get back to Dutch. After that I'll probably go home and lick my wounds" said Samantha.

"Where's home?" asked Edgar.

"L.A." answered Samantha.

"Will you be ok, financially?" asked Edgar.

"Probably. I have money in savings and I guess if worse comes to worse I can take money out of my 401K" said Samantha. "I suppose I'll try to find another job."

"I'm sorry if we got you fired" said Edgar.

"I got myself fired. I knew the moment I said anything to you that it would be my ass" said Samantha.

"You could always be a full time aerobic instructor" said Edgar.

"I couldn't live on the money I'd get as a full time aerobics instructor" said Samantha. "I have a very expensive lifestyle."

"Really?" asked Edgar.

"Oh yes, it's all caviar and champagne at my house" said Samantha. "You should come visit."

"I'd love to come visit" said Edgar.

"Well, we'll have to plan a visit" said Samantha.

"Are you sure you are going to be ok?" asked Edgar.

"Yes, I'll be fine. It really is no ones fault but my own and I'll get through it" said Samantha.

Edgar placed his arm around her and she laid her head down on his shoulder. They stayed like this until Samantha started to shiver. Edgar stood up pulling Samantha with him and leading her inside.

The moment Samantha got inside she walked into the galley and got to work making dinner. It was already late for dinner but no one seemed to mind. The lasagna was in the oven in 20 minutes and Samantha finished making some garlic toast and a salad. The cooking was cathartic for her and by the time the meal was on the table she was in a much better state. The guys filed into the galley hesitantly, the delicious aroma drew them in but now they were unsure how to act. Samantha put down the pitcher of lemonade and slid into the inside seat. Jake slid in next to her and Norman decided to sit on her other side.

"Did you make this especially for me?" asked Jake.

"I did, it's what you wanted for you special dinner" said Samantha with a smile.

"You seem happier" said Norman.

"I feel much better, cooking always makes me happy" said Samantha.

"So what do you want us to call you?" asked Nick.

"What do you mean?" asked Samantha confused.

"You know since your name isn't really Antha" said Nick.

"Oh, you can call me Antha or Samantha or Sam, they are all acceptable and I will answer to any of them" said Samantha.

"Which do you like best?" asked Nick.

"Um, I've gotten use to Antha and my grandma use to call me that" said Samantha wistfully.

"Antha it is" said Edgar.

Sig was strangely silent throughout the entire meal. The subject of what Antha would do next came up and everyone had a suggestion.

"How about you open a restaurant" suggested Matt. "You've already been to cooking school."

"It's a nice idea but it takes a lot of capital to open a business and the actual hours you work are ridiculous. Actually you know all about it because you work ridiculous hours" said Samantha.

"You could be someone's personal chef" said Norman.

"Yeah, I'd hire you" said Jake.

"You couldn't afford me" said Samantha.

"You could just stay on the boat and work for us" said Sig.

Everyone at the table turned to stare at Sig, matching looks of surprise on all their faces.

"I don't know what to say" said Samantha tentatively. "It's a very nice offer, but I think my presence on the boat has already proved to be a distraction at times."

"You are no more distracting than the camera guys" said Sig.

At that comment every single person in the galley burst into uncontrollable laughter. The subject was brushed aside as the conversation turned to fishing.

Later that night found Samantha tossing and turning in her bunk. The events of the day came back to her in rolling waves. She thought about what would happen to her when she got off the boat. She wondered if John would even get her a ticket back to LA, how many months she'd be able to pay her bills and rent without a paycheck and what her next job would be. Starring up at the ceiling it all seemed oppressive. Throwing off her blanket she turned slightly and fell out of the bunk. Cursing violently when she landed she began sorting through her clothes. Picking out what she wanted to wear she stripped off her pajamas and underwear before redressing in her fresh clothes. Unbeknownst to her she had a captive audience. Matt, Nick and Jake were watching her every move through the dim light in the room, although they couldn't see every single detail of her body they certainly got a good show. Once she was dressed Samantha slipped out of the room heading to the wheelhouse to see what time she needed to make breakfast. The moment the door closed the comments started.

"Wow, did anyone else see that" said Jake.

"Yes, everyone saw it" said Nick. "Now go back to sleep."

"Where's the lotion?" asked Matt.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I actually had it ready a few days ago, then we had an earthquake followed by a Tsunami warning. Everything is fine, but the internet was slightly sketchy for a few days. Thanks for all the reviews.

In the wheelhouse Sig was trying to decide when to wake up the guys. They were a few hours away from the next string and Sig was anxious to actually get some crab on the boat. This trip was already stretching longer than planned and that was pissing him off. He heard the sound of feet shuffling on the stairs and knew intrinsically it was Samantha. He smiled to himself as he heard her quiet greeting.

"Hi Sig" she said.

"What's up?" asked Sig.

"I wanted to know when I needed to make breakfast" answered Samantha.

"We will be at the next string in a couple hours, so you have a little time" said Sig. "Why are you awake?"

"Because my mind got the best of me. I was stupidly worrying about everything and I couldn't sleep" said Samantha.

"Antha, if you are really worried, we can take you back in" said Sig.

"I don't think whether I deal with it tomorrow, next week or next month will make any difference. I'm just going to enjoy being on the boat with no responsibilities, kind of like a very bizarre vacation" said Samantha.

"A little escape from reality" said Sig.

"Yep" replied Samantha.

"It's good that you didn't want us to take you back. You didn't get a chance to make everyone's special dinners" said Sig.

"That would have been a tragedy. I would have had to make it up to whoever I missed by having them come to dinner at my house. Although it takes away some of the challenge to cook food in a kitchen that's not moving" said Samantha.

"It's impressive that you've been able to cook so well in the moving kitchen" said Sig.

"It's no more challenging than working in a professional kitchen where everyone is trying to move around in a tiny space, reaching over, spilling things, getting burned, getting cut, and getting yelled at" said Samantha.

"You got yelled at?" asked Sig.

"Yes, all the time. That's what chefs do" said Samantha.

"Your hair looks really nice down" said Sig.

"It usually looks better when brushed, but since none of you brush your hair I'm not compelled to brush mine" said Samantha.

"Do you think I'll be able to see it brushed at some point?" asked Sig.

"I'll think about it" said Samantha.

Samantha and Sig talked for a few more minutes before she excused herself to go make breakfast.

By the time the guys woke up and walked into the galley breakfast was already on the table. Samantha was sitting in the corner of the bench seat with a red plastic cup looking more like she was at a frat party than on a working crab boat. Her eyes were closed and the cup in her hand was perilously close to spilling. The spread on the table was fit for a king, pancakes with a variety of syrups, bacon, sausage, potatoes and eggs. Norman slid in next to Samantha, carefully removed the cup from her hand while managing to avoid waking her. Everyone silently served themselves breakfast and ate as quietly as they could. Sig appeared in the galley wondering why everyone was being so quiet. His eyes slid to where Samantha was sitting and he realized that she was asleep.

"Is everyone being quiet on her account?" asked Sig.

"No we are having a contest, the quietest one gets to wake her up" said Edgar with a sly smile.

Samantha chose that moment to snuffle faintly in her sleep and her whole body started to drift to one side. Norman leaned back slightly and Samantha's head fell haphazardly into his lap. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he returned to his breakfast.

"Are you going to leave her there?" asked Sig.

"Yes, she's sleeping. Obviously she's exhausted" said Norman conversationally.

"Yeah, she was up early" said Matt.

"How do you know?" asked Edgar.

"Oh we all know, she fell out of the bunk and woke us up" said Nick.

Matt and Jake snickered under their breath remembering the show they'd seen. Edgar and Sig both eyed the guys critically before returning to their breakfast. Norman was shoveling a rather large piece of pancake dripping with syrup into his mouth, unfortunately a large drip of syrup fell off his fork and landed in Samantha's ear. The sticky substance was enough to wake Samantha who immediately jerked her head up smacking it on the bottom of the table.

"Fuck" she yelped.

Norman set down his fork and helped her maneuver back into a sitting position. Samantha reached for a napkin and attempted to remove the syrup from her ear.

"Is your head ok? It sounded like you hit it pretty hard" said Edgar around his smile.

"Fine" muttered Samantha.

"Did you eat?" asked Sig.

"Yes, I sampled everything before I fell asleep" said Samantha.

"What are you drinking?" asked Norman looking into the glass.

"Kool aid, I think it's a combination of berry blue and orange, at least that's what it tastes like" aid Samantha.

"Yeah, well it looks disgusting" said Norman.

"The taste is actually growing on me" said Samantha. "Are you sure you don't want to try it?"

"I'm sure" said Norman.

"Alright, we are going to be at the next string in less than an hour. Get suited up" said Sig.

"Roger" chorused everyone at the table.

The sun was just coming over the horizon when everyone settled into their spots on deck. The first pot of this string was on the bow and everyone was anxious to see what was in it. Jake and Samantha stood next to the sorting table

"I bet this pot has 30 keepers in it" said Jake.

"I say 45" said Matt.

"Come on, they have been soaking for almost a week" said Edgar. "It better have at least 57 keepers."

"I think it's going to be 60 keepers" said Nick.

Norman just shrugged refusing to speak with the camera pointed in his face.

"What's your guess Samantha?" asked Jake.

"I say more than one and less than a 100" said Samantha sagely.

"Nope, you need to pick a number" said Jake. "That's how the game goes."

"What do I get if I win?" asked Samantha. "Actually I'm more concerned about what will happen if I lose."

"Nothing happens, if you guess closest then you get bragging rights" said Jake.

"Then I guess 25" said Samantha.

"That's a pretty low number" said Edgar. "You should be more optimistic."

"Yes, but I believe it's called fishing not catching. Therefore I'm just being realistic explained Samantha.

The buoy bags came into view and Edgar threw the hook catching the buoy on the first try. Pulling the lines onto the boat the block strained to pull the pot out of the water. As the pot broke the surface of the water 4 crabs were riding on the top of the pot. As the hook was secured and pot hoisted over the side it became clear that the entire pot was stuffed with crab. The hoops and hollers on deck told Sig all he needed to know about the crab in the pot. Once the catch was emptied into the sorting table everyone got to work sorting out the keepers from the rest. The crab was big and clean making everyone on deck happy. The first pot had 72 keepers. Sig told them to set back the pot.

"Ok Antha, in you go" said Jake handing her the bait set up.

Samantha did her best to get in and out of the pot as fast as she could. She was definitely small enough to get in and out with no trouble, the part that was difficult was feeding the line through to Edgar who clipped it to the top of the pot. The gloves once again proved to be too big and awkward for ease of movement.

"Antha we will get you trained in bait hanging in no time. At least you didn't bump your head this time" said Edgar patting her on the head.

The movement made her hood fall off and revealed that once again she wasn't wearing a hat. Edgar scowled at the realization that she wasn't heeding his advice. His mind whirled and his plans for teaching her a lesson were already forming in his twisted brain. Samantha pulled her hood back on and headed back to the bait table.

The string was on fire, each pot came over the rail stuffed with keepers. The mood on deck was electric and the crew seemed to be working together seamlessly. Samantha had just moved to the side of the sorting table to hang a few bait set ups. The pot was on the launcher and dumping the crab onto the table. Eric moved to stand behind the sorting table to get a shot of the crab spilling out of the pot. Samantha saw him move past her from the corner of her eye. She unconsciously reached out to grab him by the shirt and pull him back. If there was one rule she'd learned on the boat it was never stand behind the table. Eric slipped through her grip and continued to film. Without a thought Samantha stepped behind the table and grabbed Eric by the collar dragging him back to the safety zone on the side of the table.

"What the hell are you..." yelled Eric.

He was interrupted by the sound of the steel pot tumbling over the table and into the spot he was just standing. Everyone on deck froze. Edgar did a quick head count and assured Sig that everyone was still alive. No one on deck knew how close Eric had come to being squished like a bug except Samantha. She hadn't even seen the pot slip out of the dogs, but she knew Eric wasn't safe walking behind the table. Eric stood frozen while the work on deck went on around him. His life seemed to flash blearily before his eyes. He trained his camera on the crew but didn't bother to look through the viewfinder.

"Eric, are you ok?" asked Samantha.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. It was just a close call" said Eric. "I've never been so close to..um wow, on second thought I don't think I 'm ok. I'm going to head in for a little bit."

"No problem" said Samantha.

Eric walked off deck looking very shell shocked.

"What's up with him?" asked Jake.

Samantha just shrugged and continued to sort the catch.

"Antha, I think we are all ready for a little lunch. I will ask Captain Ahab if he's willing to let us have a minute to eat. But head in and start something just in case" said Edgar.

"Roger" said Samantha.

Lunch was a quick meal, everyone stuffed their faces and redressed to head outside. Samantha cleaned up and put in a load of laundry. She quickly put her hair up in two braids, redressed and headed back on deck.

Thirty hours after the first pot of the string was pulled the weary crew dropped the last re-baited pot into the water. Samantha dragged herself inside throwing off wet clothes as she went. Her whole body ached and her hands felt frozen to the bone. Walking into the kitchen she was relieved that the roast chicken was cooked and ready to serve. She tossed the potatoes and green beans onto a platter then quickly carved the chicken. Matt wandered into the kitchen and was immediately put to work making a salad. Jake came in next fresh and clean from his recent shower. He was charged with putting the plates on the table and getting cups for everyone. Samantha pulled a dozen rolls out of the oven and arranged them onto a plate. The smell of dinner drew everyone else into the galley. As soon as the last platter was set on the table everyone filled their plates. Sig said a quick blessing and they all began to eat. Samantha was so exhausted that even the praise given to her over the meal sounded like nothing more than static. Once everyone was finished eating Samantha moved towards the kitchen but was immediately stopped by Edgar.

"We'll handle the cleaning up. Lets get you showered and in bed" he said soothingly.

Thoughts of a hot shower filled Samantha's memory and she sighed at the thought of it. Edgar walked her to the bathroom, the second she was in the door the clothes were unceremoniously stripped off. Edgar not being one to pass up a free show watched as Samantha removed each article of clothing tossing them carelessly to the floor. When she was in nothing but her underwear she reached into the shower and turned on the water. While the water was warming up Samantha flossed and brushed her teeth and removed her hair from the braids shaking it out. Then she wiped down the sink and counter with a stash of cleaning wipes stowed under the sink. Edgar had never seen this bathroom so clean and now he knew why. Finally Samantha removed her last article of clothing and slipped into the shower. On autopilot she washed her hair and body mechanically, finishing her shower in less than five minutes. Reaching out she grabbed a dry towel, dried herself as best she could before wrapping it around her body and stepping out of the shower cubicle. Edgar was still standing in the doorway.

"I hope you enjoyed the show" said Samantha as she slipped by him.

Edgar snapped back to reality swiveling his head around to watch Samantha walk down the hall and disappear into the stateroom. She dressed quickly and climbed into bed, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: This chapter contains adult content please consider yourself warned. Please continue to read and review.

Samantha tossed and turned in her bunk completely unable to get comfortable. She'd just woken up from a ridiculously sexy dream and now she was aroused. Opening her eyes she leaned over her bunk glancing at the sleeping face of Jake Anderson, although he seemed to be fast asleep she didn't want to take any chances. With a determined huff she got out of bed and padded into the hallway. Stopping in front of the bathroom she considered just taking a quick shower but dismissed it, the water on the boat was rationed and she didn't want to get a lecture on wasting water even it was for a good reason. Crossing her fingers she walked up to Sig's room, it was empty just as she hoped. He was driving the boat, she could use his room to finger herself to a quick orgasm and then go back to bed without him even noticing. She closed the door then climbed onto the bed she laid down closing her eyes and tried to remember the thread of her dream. It didn't take long for her fingers to slip beneath her pajama pants and into her underwear. Collecting a bit of moisture she slid her wet fingers over her clit, quickly finding a rhythm she began to reach towards her peak. Her other hand moved her shirt up over her breasts so she could palm them, tweaking her nipples occasionally to heighten her pleasure. The waistband of her pants were becoming a hinderance and she unceremoniously shoved them down and off. Completely free to indulge herself in some self love she began to finger herself in earnest, climbing higher and higher towards her peak.

Sig hurried into his room to use the bathroom before quickly returning to the wheelhouse. He hated leaving the chair at night, but nature called and no one was going to wake up to come up and take over so he could take a leak. At first he didn't even notice the half naked girl laying on his bed his eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark and he was in a hurry. However the moment he heard a moan his eyes snapped to the bed taking in the sight before him. Samantha was laying on his pillow her fingers buried between her spread legs, her other hand pulling viciously at her nipples. Sig's mouth went dry and any desire to use the bathroom had been replaced by a completely different desire. Samantha's orgasm seemed to roll up from her toes sending her whole body into a spasm, she bit her lip as she attempted to stifle the groan of satisfaction.

"What are you doing?" asked Sig.

Samantha's eyes snapped open and she jumped out of Sig's bed. Her hands dropped to cover her femininity and she was blushing from head to toe.

"Sorry, I just needed some privacy" said Samantha her voice barely above a whisper.

"What did you say?" asked Sig stepping forward.

"I just needed some privacy" repeated Samantha.

"Privacy? It doesn't exist on a boat" said Sig.

"I'm realizing that right now" said Samantha her eyes glued to the floor.

Sig took Samantha's sudden interest in the floor as an invitation to study her. He looked at her hair, probably messy from rolling across his pillow, next he noticed that her shirt was still pulled up slightly revealing her flat stomach. One hand was covering her sex, the other was held to the side fingers still glistening with her arousal. Her legs were bare as were her feet. Sig's eyes traveled back to her face which was no longer looking at the floor but watching his inspection of her body. Her cheeks were still visibly flaming pink even in the low light of the room but her eyes were strangely blank. Sig's eyes moved back to Samantha's hand which was moving from it's place at her side. He watched transfixed as she moved the wet fingers into her mouth. Samantha licked her fingers clean her eyes locked on Sig's. Moving her fingers out of her mouth she retrieved her pants from the bed and slipped into them. Then with an air of grace completely out of place given her current situation she walked past Sig and out the door.

Samantha's head was whirling, she'd just been caught masturbating in Sig's bed by Sig. And to make matters worse she'd licked her fingers, which was really something she only did without an audience, but in the moment she'd wanted to do something to shock Sig speechless. She'd just passed the galley when Eric appeared in the hallway.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd be up" he said quietly.

"I was just heading back to bed" replied Samantha.

"Can I talk to you for minute, about what happened earlier" said Eric.

"Sure" said Samantha.

They both sat down at the galley table, Eric pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered Samantha one. She declined and waited patiently while he lit one.

"I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life" said Eric.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you're ok" said Samantha.

"I know the rules and I didn't even remember them. I wanted to get the shot and you were the only one on that deck that could have pulled me back" said Eric. "Thanks for looking out of me."

"In all honesty, I just pulled you back because you were walking behind the table, I didn't see the pot fall until it actually crashed" explained Samantha.

Eric was surprised, he'd assumed that Samantha had seen the dogs fail and had pulled him back because of it.

"I've been trying to notate the footage from today, we drop it tomorrow, but I can't. Watching it makes me sick right now" said Eric forlornly.

"I imagine almost dying could do that to a person, no matter how professional. Do you want me to do it for you?" asked Samantha.

"You don't have to. I didn't tell you because I wanted you to do my work for me" said Eric.

"I don't mind, it probably won't take me very long" said Samantha.

"If you're sure, I'll happily give you the tapes and the notebooks" said Eric.

"Go get them, I'll do them out here so I can have some coffee while I notate" said Samantha.

Eric retrieved the tapes and set up the camera for Samantha. She started the tape and quickly began the notations in the notebook. She was so absorbed in her work she didn't see Edgar slink into the kitchen for some coffee. Edgar watched Samantha scribble down notes on the pad of paper and realized that she had no idea he was even in the room. Sneaking up behind her he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"If you are going to strangle me at least wait until I'm done with this tape" said Samantha.

"I'm not going to strangle you" said Edgar.

"Oh, sorry I thought you were Sig" said Samantha pulling the earphones off her ears.

"Why would Sig want to strangle you?" asked Edgar.

"Because I was inappropriately using his stateroom for my own nefarious purposes" said Samantha.

"Could you dumb that sentence down a little, it's 3 am and I'm a fisherman" said Edgar.

"I was in his stateroom without permission" said Samantha.

"What were you doing?" asked Edgar.

"I was just looking for a little privacy" said Samantha.

"It doesn't exist on a crab boat" said Edgar.

"I realize that...now" said Samantha.

"So are you going to tell me what happened or are you going to wait for me to hear it from Sig?" asked Edgar.

"I think you should just wait and hear it from Sig, I'm sure he will make a much bigger deal about it than I will" said Samantha.

"You're sure? Because I'm going to go ask him right now" said Edgar.

"Go ahead, I have to finish this tape" said Samantha.

"Fine, I'm going. Last chance to tell me yourself" said Edgar.

"Bye" said Samantha slipping back on the earphones.

Edgar walked up to the wheelhouse with his coffee expecting to find Sig gleefully sitting in his chair. Instead he found a very disheveled Sig pacing back and forth behind his chair.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Edgar.

"You're here, great" said Sig.

"Is something wrong with the chair?" asked Edgar.

"No, I'm just not in the mood to sit" said Sig.

"What happened with Samantha?" asked Edgar.

Sig turned slowly eyeing Edgar menacingly. Edgar unconsciously took a step backward.

"What did she say to you?" asked Sig.

"She said you were mad at her for 'inappropriate activity in your stateroom' or something like that, she said it much better" said Edgar.

"Did she say what she was doing?" asked Sig.

"No, she said I could hear it from you" said Edgar.

Sig stopped pacing and turned to light a cigarette.

"Tell me already" said Edgar impatiently.

"She was masturbating on my bed" said Sig.

Edgar's jaw dropped to the floor and he stopped breathing for a moment or two. When air became a necessity he drew in a huge breath.

"You are the biggest fucking liar" said Edgar running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm not lying" said Sig.

"What was she doing?" asked Edgar.

Sig just gave him a look of disbelief.

"Fine, I can imagine what she was doing, but it would be much more stimulating if you described it to me" said Edgar.

"She was laying on my bed touching herself" said Sig.

"What was she wearing?" asked Edgar.

"A shirt" said Sig.

"No pants?" said Edgar.

"No pants" said Sig.

"Describe it to me. Tell me just what you are going to write in your letter to Penthouse" begged Edgar.

"No" said Sig simply.

"Fine, who's name did she call when she came? Or did you interrupt her before she was finished?" asked Edgar.

"She finished and she didn't call anyone's name" said Sig. "Are you here to take your turn at watch or what?"

"Yeah, fine I'm taking over" said Edgar. "Don't get your panties in a twist."

"I'm going to bed" said Sig.

"I bet" said Edgar with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Fuck you Edgar" said Sig.

Edgar sat in the chair wondering what Samantha was thinking using Sig's room. If she really wanted to work off some of her sexual energy she could have gone to him. He made a mental note to offer his services.

Sig tossed and turned on his bed, his pillow smelled like Samantha's shampoo and her was fairly sure that somewhere on his sleeping bag there had probably been a wet spot from her earlier activities. He could swear he smelled the scent in the air. He couldn't believe he was getting hard again. Sig had already taken care of his earlier erection the moment Samantha had walked out of the room. He hadn't even made it to the bathroom or bothered to close the door. He'd just pulled out his cock given it a few quick strokes and cum all over his hand. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been hard twice in a day without a women actually touching him. Samantha hadn't laid a finger on him, yet the memory of her touching herself was going to make him jack off again in the span of a few hours. With a frustrated sigh Sig flung himself out of bed and headed down to the galley for a snack.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I don't think the last chapter got sent out as a chapter update alert. Please make sure you read Chapter 12 first, it has important plot details.

Samantha finished up doing the notes for the tapes and went back to bed. She was surprisingly relaxed and was able to fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. The guys woke up a few hours later as they approached the next string. Jake was tasked to wake Samantha up and took his newest assignment very seriously. Standing on top of his bunk he leaned over Samantha and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"Come on sleeping beauty, it's time to get up" said Jake quietly.

"5 more minutes" said Samantha rolling away from Jake.

"I already gave you 5 more minutes" said Jake.

"No you didn't, I just asked" mumbled Samantha.

"Come on it's time to get up. Don't make me get Edgar" threatened Jake.

"What can he do to me?" asked Samantha.

"Don't think of what he could do to you. Think of what he will do to me" said Jake.

"Fine, I'm getting up" said Samantha. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble because of me."

Jake leaned over and gave Samantha another kiss on the cheek before pulling her out of the bunk. Samantha quickly changed into a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt before heading out of the stateroom. She made a quick detour to the dryer and pulled out a load of clean clothes. Matt appeared out of nowhere and helped to carry the basket into the galley. He set it down on the bench and started to help her fold.

"Matt, stop sucking up to Antha" chided Edgar.

Matt flipped Edgar off and went back to folding. Samantha grabbed a towel and folded it gingerly. Matt picked out another piece out of the basket and held it up to show Edgar.

"Matt, are you are only helping her so you can fondle her underwear?" asked Edgar.

"Possibly" replied Matt with a smirk.

Samantha snatched back her underwear and tossed a pair of boxers at him to fold. Edgar came over and grabbed a pair of Samantha's underwear and began inspecting them.

"What are you doing?" asked Samantha warily.

"Just checking out the merchandise. I didn't get and up close and personal show like Sig did" said Edgar.

Samantha turned and stared at Edgar her eyes wide with shock. Edgar just smiled a roguish smile and turned to walk up to the wheelhouse still holding her underwear.

"What was that all about?" asked Matt.

"Something terribly embarrassing" said Samantha.

"Did you do it in front of Edgar?" asked Matt. "Because if you did, you will never live it down."

"No I did it in front of Sig, but clearly Edgar's heard about it" said Samantha.

"What happened?" asked Matt.

"I don't want to talk about it" said Samantha sullenly.

"Ok, if you want me to beat someone up let me know" said Matt.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind" said Samantha.

"Hey Antha can you make omelets this morning?" asked Jake.

"Sure" said Samantha.

Matt grabbed the sweatshirt Samantha was holding and tossed it in the basket.

"I'll take care of the rest of the laundry" said Matt.

"Thanks" said Samantha. "What kind of omelet do you want, Jake?"

"Ham and cheese" replied Jake.

Samantha slid into the kitchen with Jake following behind her. She dug around in the fridge handing ingredients to Jake who set them on the counter. Once she'd removed everything she turned around and found Jake anxiously standing next to the ingredient filled counter.

"Do you want a lesson?" asked Samantha.

"Yeah, if that's ok with you" said Jake.

"It's fine. I love forming young culinary minds" said Samantha.

"Right. I just want to learn how to make an omelet" said Jake.

"Roger" muttered Samantha.

She placed two bowls, two cutting boards and two knives onto the counter. She set up two identical stations with the equipment and ingredients.

"First thing we do is prep the add ins, so we are going to dice the ham, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and onions" said Samantha.

She grabbed a few pieces of ham and showed Jake how to dice them. He followed her knife movements as best he could but she cut a little too fast for him to catch everything. Next they worked on the onions and peppers.

"God, these things are making my eyes water" complained Jake.

"The key to not crying while cutting onions is to cut them fast" said Samantha with a smile.

Her knife flew through her pile of ingredients and soon they were scooped and dropped into several small bowls. Jake's progress slowed to a crawl as he watched Samantha's skills. Samantha stopped and looked at Jake's pile of ingredients.

"Come on Jake, you still have a lot to chop" said Samantha.

"I can't believe you're done already" said Jake.

"I'm sure there are a lot of things you can do much faster than I can. For example, I can't throw the hook" said Samantha placatingly.

"Yeah, that too a lot of practice to do it well" said Jake.

"It took me a lot of practice to learn how to work a knife as well as I do" said Samantha. "For weeks at cooking school all I did was learn to slice, dice and julianne."

"How many years did you go to cooking school?" asked Jake.

"Two years" replied Samantha. "Ok, lets make these omelets."

Samantha showed Jake how to beat the eggs, saute the add ins and flip the perfect omelet. It took them a while but eventually everyone got their made to order omelet. The last omelet was for Jake. Samantha made his perfectly and as she slid it out onto the plate she even garnished it with a few pieces of artfully cut ham. Samantha set down the plate in front of Jake and slid in next to him digging into her own omelet he'd made for her.

"You did a great job on the omelet Jake, I'm sure some day you will make a one night stand a very nice breakfast" said Samantha.

"Antha, be nice" said Nick.

"Sorry, you will make delicious breakfast for your girlfriend" said Samantha. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I've had a few, but I don't have one currently" said Jake. "Are you interested in the position?"

"Hmm, I'll think about it" said Samantha.

Standing in the ready room everyone was suited up and ready to go out. Edgar watched Samantha with a critical eye, he was waiting for her to don the one piece of clothing he considered essential. When she walked out onto the deck without a hat on, Edgar placed his plan into action. On deck Samantha was promoted to pot baiter. Edgar waited until the wave was about to crash over the deck before he signaled Samantha into the pot. Each time she hung the bait she was completely drenched by wave after wave. She was slipping and sliding on the deck. By the time the string was over, hours later, Samantha was soaked to the bone. As the crew tidied up the deck Matt decided that this was a perfect time to show off his amazing deck sliding skills. Edgar, Nick, Jake and Samantha were sorting the last of the crab while Matt slid along the deck. On his last pass he stopped suddenly howling in pain.

"Oh shit, it finally happened" said Edgar with a snort.

"What?" asked Samantha.

"He got a fucking splinter in his ass. Oh this is classic" said Edgar.

Then a few things happened at once. A wave tipped the boat slightly causing Samantha to loose her footing. She stumbled backwards tripping over Nick's foot and falling ass first into the funnel on top of the crab tank. Now for anyone else it would have just meant owing everyone on the boat a case of beer. However, because Samantha was considerably smaller than anyone on the boat she slid down until she was almost completely submerged. Nick grabbed one of her arms and was about to pull her out when the boat pitched again causing Nick to fall on top of her forcing her down farther into the funnel.

"Edgar, give me a hand. I think she's stuck" said Nick.

Edgar rushed over helping Nick to extract her from the funnel.

"Samantha are you ok?" asked Nick.

"No! I'm wet and cold and this boat is a death trap" cried Samantha.

"Why don't you go inside and take a hot shower, we can finish up out here" said Edgar.

Samantha just nodded, pushing past Nick to get inside as quickly as possibly.

"Why did we fish in the trough all day?" asked Jake.

"Just to teach Samantha the importance of wearing a hat" replied Edgar.

"You are such an asshole" said Nick.

"Hey fuck you, I told her to wear a hat, if she can't be assed to remember then she deserves what she gets" said Edgar. "Besides I didn't push her into the funnel."

"I didn't do anything to make her fall" said Nick defensively.

"Whatever, lets get this shit done so we can go inside" said Edgar.

The crew finished securing the deck for the run to the next string and headed inside to the warmth and comfort of the house.

Samantha was hard at work in the kitchen, she was making Nick's favorite meal which was proving more difficult because of the pain radiating from her back and side. At least she was clean and warm, the shower was deliciously hot and she'd taken as long as she wanted even making time to shave her legs and underarms. Dressing herself in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt she set to work on dinner. By the time the crew got inside she'd just dropped the pasta in the water.

"How long till dinner?" asked Edgar.

"10 minutes" replied Samantha.

Edgar watched as Samantha winced as she reached up to get the dishes down from the cabinet. A frown was immediately set on his face as he wondered if she was just sore of if it was something more.

"For fucks sake Edgar, stop mad dogging her" said Norman.

"Whatever, I'm going to take a shower. Watch her" said Edgar before storming out of the room.

Norman shrugged then moved around Samantha to the fridge to pull out the drinks for dinner.

"Antha, what the hell is up with the kool-aid. Usually it's just one color, yet when you make it, it's always a disgusting brown color" said Norman.

"I like the mix the flavors" said Samantha with a shrug.

"What's this one?" asked Norman.

"I call it the Jonestown special" said Samantha an evil grin spreading across her face.

"You have a serious mental illness" said Norman.

"I know, yet I'm the sanest person on this boat" countered Samantha.

"I don't doubt that" said Norman with a chuckle.

Norman set the table and halfheartedly watched Samantha move around the kitchen. He noticed her favoring one side and every time she reached up to get anything she cringed. Norman realized that Edgar was probably right to be worried. Samantha carried the huge platter of beef stroganoff to the table and set it down with a little more effort than normal. Everyone was down for dinner, including Sig.

"Sit next to me" said Edgar.

"Why?" asked Samantha suspiciously.

"Because that's where Norman set your cup of jesus juice" said Edgar.

Samantha sat down and served herself some dinner. Everyone ate ravenously and after the second helpings were served the conversation started up.

"Who's favorite dinner is this?" asked Jake.

"It's Nicks. Kind of" replied Samantha.

"I asked for Hamburger Helper beef stroganoff, but Miss fancy pants had to make the real thing, which I've never actually had" said Nick in mock complaint.

"Do you like it better than the box stuff?" asked Samantha. "If you don't I can make you the hamburger helper version tomorrow."

"It's delicious, I may never be able to eat the Hamburger Helper mix again" said Nick sadly.

"I'm sure you'll be able to" said Samantha reassuringly.

"Yeah, when it's the only thing Matt feels like cooking" said Norman.

Everyone helped Samantha clear up the dinner dishes and soon the galley was clean. Sitting down wearily at the table Samantha rubbed her tired eyes before laying her head down on the table. Edgar sat down next to her and playfully poked her in the side. The howl that hurled out of her mouth was enough to let everyone on the boat know something was wrong.

"What the hell was that?" asked Sig over the hailer.

"Lets go see the captain" said Edgar, helping Samantha stand up.

Sig was waiting expectantly in the wheelhouse when Edgar and Samantha arrived. He looked both concerned and angry at the same time. Samantha was gingerly rubbing her side trying to make the pain go away.

"What did you do to her?" asked Sig.

"She fell in the funnel" replied Edgar.

"You owe everyone on deck a case of beer" said Sig.

"Great, who owes me new ribs?" asked Samantha.

Sig's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her question.

"Take off your shirt" said Edgar.

"I usually expect dinner first" said Samantha.

"You just had dinner" countered Edgar.

"Why do you want me to take off my shirt?" asked Samantha wearily.

"So I can see if you really hurt anything" replied Edgar impatiently.

"Yeah, well I'm not wearing a bra" said Samantha.

"It's nothing we haven't seen before" said Edgar.

Samantha's mouth dropped open at the brazenness of Edgar's statement.

"I meant, that we've both seen plenty of boobs in our lives not that we've seen yours specifically" said Edgar placatingly.

Samantha was pretty sure they'd both seen her boobs but decided not to comment. Instead she attempted to pull her shirt off as painlessly as possible which turned out to be impossible. Edgar finally stepped in and pulled her t-shirt off the rest of the way. Samantha's hands covered her breasts and Edgar pulled her over to where Sig was standing. They both examined her, touching and stroking her swollen flesh. Samantha felt like this type of attention would be very arousing had she not been in terrible pain.

"I think she may have cracked some ribs" said Sig.

"Are you having trouble breathing?" asked Edgar.

"No" replied Samantha.

"What hurts?" asked Sig.

"Everything" replied Samantha.

"What hurts the worst?" asked Sig.

"Right here" said Samantha moving one of her hands to point at the spot.

This move left one breast completely exposed, both Sig and Edgar took a moment to admire the revealed piece of flesh before returning to the matter at hand. Sig palpated the spot Samantha had pointed to as gently as possible. Samantha bit her lip as hard as she could to keep herself from crying out.

"Alright, lets get some liniment on it and wrap her up" said Sig. "She can sleep in my bunk so she has more room."

"Roger" replied Edgar.

Samantha sat on Sig's bed waiting for Edgar to finish rubbing her with the foul smelling ointment. She didn't even bother covering her breasts her hands were too busy clutching the blanket in a vain attempt to keep her mind off the pain. Edgar reached for the ace bandage and took a moment to consider the best way to wrap it. Samantha blushed slightly under his perusal of her body, even if it was for purely medical reasons. Edgar was mesmerized by the sight of her breasts rising and falling with each breath. Her breasts were high and perky on her chest with pink tipped nipples hardened into tight peaks. He reached out grazing his fingers on the bottom of her right breast as he placed the bandage underneath it. Samantha shuttered sightly and her skin broke out into gooseflesh. Wrapping the bandage around her Edgar secured it with the metal clasps. The tight bandaging seemed to accentuate her breasts even more. Edgar leaned forward and for a moment Samantha thought he was going to take one of her nipples into his mouth. Instead he veered lower at the last moment and placed a light kiss on her bruised ribs.

"All done" Edgar announced his voice slightly husky.

"Not yet" said Samantha.

Edgar quirked an eyebrow wondering what she had in mind.

"I need help putting my shirt back on" said Samantha.

Edgar picked up the shirt and slipped it over her raised arms, as he pulled the hem down he grazed the sides of both breasts causing Samantha to stifle a moan. Shuffling down into the bed Samantha made herself comfortable. Edgar laid the blanket over her tucking her in loosely. Leaning down he gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"Now, if you need anything just call" said Edgar pointing to the phone. "Or you could yell and Sig will come in. But if you need help with anything personal, call me first."

"What sort of personal thing?" asked Samantha.

"Like if you need help doing what you did last time you were laying on this bed" said Edgar.

Samantha closed her eyes shaking her head back and forth in an effort to completely strike the last sentence from her memory. Sig had told Edgar about what she'd done, she knew he had but she'd prayed he hadn't gone into detail."

"Thanks for the offer, I'll let you know if I need anything" said Samantha.

Edgar left the room turning one last time to blow her a kiss. Samantha groaned quietly and closed her eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews. Please continue to read and review if the mood strikes.

Samantha stirred slightly in her sleep, her head turning into the soft touch caressing her. Sig sat on the corner of the bed slowly stroking her cheek. He couldn't decide if he wanted her to wake up or not. Wanting to check the wrapping around her body he turned her slightly and lifted up her t-shirt. The wrapping was tight and Sig wondered if it was as uncomfortable as it appeared. He stroked his hand across the bandage being careful not to press to hard. The first thing he noticed was the area was slightly swollen and warm to the touch. Sig shook his head, wondering how many times Samantha was going to be hurt on this trip. Suddenly Samantha moved rolling away from Sig with a pained moan.

"Hey Antha, do you want some pain meds?" asked Sig quietly.

Samantha moaned again as she back over to face Sig. Her eyes fluttered open and after a moment she raised her head from the pillow.

"I would like it if you could just bash me over the head with a blunt object and put me out of my misery" said Samantha.

"But you haven't made my favorite dinner yet" said Sig.

"Hmph" said Samantha.

Sig went into the bathroom and grabbed the bottle of medicine. Walking back into his room he found Samantha was sitting up in bed. Sig handed her the pills and Samantha tossed them back taking a few sips from the bottle next to the bed to wash them down.

"Who's driving the boat?" asked Samantha.

"Jake is on wheel watch" replied Sig. "The boat drives itself."

"Even when we're fishing?" asked Samantha.

"No, then I drive the boat. When we are running between strings and the seas are fairly calm the boat stays on autopilot and I can get some sleep" explained Sig.

"It's nice you get to take a break every once in a while" said Samantha.

"Yeah, well even when I'm resting I'm thinking about fishing. When I sleep I dream about fishing" said Sig.

"What do you dream about when you aren't fishing? Like when you're at home" asked Samantha.

"I don't really dream when I'm home. I just sleep" said Sig.

"That's interesting" said Samantha.

Sig yawned and Samantha moved over so Sig could lay down.

"I'm not going to sleep with you" said Sig.

"Oh, do you want me to go back to my bunk?" asked Samantha.

"No, I'll find somewhere else to sleep" said Sig.

"You can sleep with me, you have before" said Samantha.

"But you're hurt" said Sig.

"I didn't say we'd be having a night of wild passionate sex, I said you can sleep with me" said Samantha exasperatedly.

"I wasn't suggesting that we would be having sex" said Sig. "But I don't want to roll over on you or anything."

"Do you think that would be a problem?" asked Samantha.

"Possibly" said Sig.

"Well why don't we just see what happens. If you crush me in my sleep I'll let you know" said Samantha.

"Fine" said Sig.

He got himself comfortable and Samantha rolled over and snuggled under the blanket. Sig had trouble falling asleep, his desire to touch Samantha was overwhelming. Her scent again seemed to completely engulf him and he felt himself grow hard. He turned slightly in an attempt to move away from her.

"Sig, stop moving around. Just pick a spot and stay there" complained Samantha.

Sig moved again and Samantha rolled over and flung her leg over his in an attempt to keep him still. Her arm encircled his chest and her head was right next to his on the pillow. Sig wondered why the gods were so cruel to him, now he was practically pinned under her with an erection less than 6 inches above her leg. He prayed she wouldn't move her leg up in her sleep. Eventually Sig fell into a fitful sleep.

Samantha awoke to a dull pain in her ribs and something very annoying poking her in the backside. Opening her eyes she realized she'd shifted positions in her sleep and that Sig's arm was draped over her injured ribs. For a moment she wondered what the hell was poking her in the ass before realizing what it was. She wiggled her bottom experimentally and found that Sig's response was to tighten his arm painfully around her waist. Gasping for air she attempted to pull herself away from him.

"Where do you think you're going" muttered Sig sleepily into her hair.

"You're crushing my ribs" said Samantha.

Samantha's voice cut through the fantasy of Sig's dream and his eyes shot open his body going rigid. He realized immediately that his hard cock was nestled between Samantha's cheeks. Samantha moved Sig's arm so it sat low on her hip, well away from her ribs. His fingers dangled over her hip and he found himself stroking the soft skin on her hip unconsciously. The whole situation suddenly seemed to take on a much more sexual air. Samantha dropped her hip slightly giving Sig more access to her skin. Taking the hint Sig slipped his hand down farther dipping in the low slung waistband of her pajamas. His hand easily slipped in encountering nothing but soft skin. Samantha reacted to his ministrations by grinding her bottom into Sig's cloth covered erection. Sig's hips responded by pressing back against her body. Samantha's better judgement was quickly taking leave of her mind. Her body's desire made her bold and she guided Sig's hand closer to her center. Before his hand reached its goal the cabin phone rang. Sig removed his hand from Samantha's pants and picked up the phone.

"This had better be important" grunted Sig.

While Sig listened to the caller Samantha whacked her head repeatedly on the wall in front of her.

"Fine, I'll be right there" said Sig angrily hanging up the phone. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to knock some sense back into myself" replied Samantha.

"Well don't damage the wall" said Sig. "An alarm is going off so get up and come with me to the wheelhouse."

Sig got out of bed, his erection still clearly evident, and walked into the bathroom. Samantha sighed and got out of bed, immediately leaving the room and heading to the wheelhouse.

In the wheelhouse Jake was still sitting in the captain's chair with Edgar standing behind him wearing nothing but a pair of low slung pajama pants. The alarm was still blaring on the console which drowned out Samantha's entrance into the room. Samantha mentally shook herself as she stared at Edgar's chest and muscular back.

"This boat is going to be the death of me" muttered Samantha to herself.

Sig arrived a moment behind her, he pressed his body against hers as he moved past giving her a gentle squeeze.

"What's going on?" asked Sig.

"The alarm says its the bilge" said Edgar.

"Have you checked it?" asked Sig.

"No, I just got out of the shower. Norman is checking it right now" said Edgar.

"Ok" replied Sig.

The boat phone rang, Jake picked it up and handed it to Sig.

"Well" queried Sig.

Clearly Norman had quite a few things to explain because Sig was completely silent for a few minutes.

"Ok" said Sig as he hung up the phone.

"Well?" asked Edgar.

"He said he can't find anything wrong with the pump, the only thing he thinks it could be is a problem with the alarm system itself" said Sig.

"Alright Junior lets go check it out" said Edgar.

Samantha had been sitting quietly in the port side chair casually staring out the window while listening to the conversation. She had no idea what a bilge was but the fact that no one was telling her to get into a survival suit made her feel pretty safe. Edgar walked over to where Samantha was standing startling her out of her revery.

"How are you feeling?" asked Edgar.

"Huh? Oh I'm feeling fine, thanks" said Samantha.

"How are the ribs?" asked Edgar.

"They're a little sore, but no more painful than last night" answered Samantha.

"You want to come down and check out the engine room with us?" asked Edgar.

"No thanks, I don't want to have to put on a sweatshirt" said Samantha.

"I could help you" said Edgar.

"Thanks, but I'm going to make breakfast" said Samantha.

"Suit yourself. I vote for french toast" said Edgar.

Edgar and Jake exited the wheelhouse with Samantha following them as far as the galley.

Samantha was almost finished making breakfast when Norman appeared from outside. He was shivering with cold and soaking wet. Without ceremony he stripped down to his skivvies tossing the wet clothes into the laundry basket. Samantha considered whacking her head against the counter just to keep herself from the inappropriate fantasies running through her head. Norman walked into the kitchen and gave Samantha a wet hug before standing in front of the flat top to warm up.

"I think you'd get warmer if you took a hot shower and put some clothes on" suggested Samantha.

"What's the matter Antha? Not enjoying the view" asked Norman.

"The view is very nice, but the goosebumps all over you look uncomfortable" said Samantha. "Let me get you some coffee."

Samantha poured him a cup, fixing it just the way he liked it before handing it to him. Norman took a grateful sip and toddled off towards his stateroom. Samantha let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and resumed making breakfast. Matt and Nick emerged from their stateroom and sauntered into the galley. Samantha filled a couple cups of coffee, setting them on the table in front of the guys.

"How are you feeling?" asked Matt.

"Sore" replied Samantha.

"Did you take anything?" asked Nick.

"Yeah, Sig gave me some pills this morning" said Samantha.

Samantha returned to the kitchen and finished making breakfast. She'd just set everything on the table when Edgar and Jake walked in. Like Norman both of them were soaked to the bone and again just like Norman they stripped down to their underwear before walking towards the staterooms. Nick walked behind Samantha to refill his cup of coffee.

"Down girl" he whispered in her ear.

"I think there is some sort of plot against me" muttered Samantha.

Nick just chuckled to himself before returning to the table. Once everything was set on the table Samantha fixed a plate for Sig setting it aside so he could have a little of everything before the rest of the guys inhaled it all. Sig walked downstairs a few minutes later and gratefully accepted the plate from Samantha before sitting down.

"Well, what's the verdict" asked Sig.

"As far as I can tell there is no damage, the alarm mechanism itself maybe faulty" said Edgar around bites.

"The weather is really shitty out there" said Norman.

"Yeah, it looked pretty nasty" commented Sig.

"Yeah, from your nice dry wheelhouse" said Edgar.

"We are an hour away from the next string, so suit up and get out there. The boat is half full, lets hope we can top it off in the next couple of days" said Sig.

The guys quickly finished their breakfast and left to get dressed. Samantha stacked the breakfast dishes in the sink and wiped down the table. She was unsure if she really wanted to go outside on deck. She supposed it was her prerogative and they'd be fine without her, just like they had been for every other season prior. Slowly washing the dishes she was still contemplating when Norman quietly walked into the kitchen. Norman took a minute to verify there wasn't a camera within earshot before speaking.

"Will you make my dinner tonight?" he asked quietly.

Samantha visibly started, dropping the platter she was washing into the soapy water causing a huge splash of water to fall on her shirt.

"Jesus Norman, you need to get a bell or something" she said exasperatedly.

"Sorry to startle you. But it's like a quest for the camera guys to hear me talking so I try to avoid them as much as possible and that means learning to be very very quiet" explained Norman.

Samantha turned around displaying her wet t-shirt to Norman before giving him a very wet hug.

"Hey, I just changed" said Norman.

"What do you want for your special dinner?" asked Samantha.

"Tacos" replied Norman his voice taking on a wistful quality.

"Sure, no problem" said Samantha mentally going over the ingredient list.

"You're the best" said Norman before dropping a kiss on Samantha's cheek.

Samantha blushed slightly as she smiled up at Norman.

"By the way you should go change, your shirt's all wet" said Norman as he walked out of the kitchen.

Samantha picked up the sponge she was using and threw it at Norman who deftly caught it and tossed it back.

"Hey you two, no fighting" said Edgar as he walked towards the ready room.

Norman punched him in the arm in response before walking to the ready room to get suited up.

"Samantha, are you coming out today?" asked Edgar.

"I don't know yet" replied Samantha.

"Well it's cool if you stay in, the weather is shitty" said Edgar. "Although it already looks like you are cold and wet."

Samantha looked down at her t-shirt realizing that her nipples were poking out underneath the soaked shirt. Instead of responding she merely turned back to the dishes.

Hours later Samantha was sitting in the wheelhouse with Sig watching the boat cut it's way through choppy seas. Sitting on the bench seat listening to her ipod and reading a book on her kindle she vaguely heard the conversation going on between Sig and Eric. They'd been constantly talking about the state of the weather, the offload date given by the processor and how the trip was going thus far. Samantha ears perked up when she heard her name being called. Looking up from her book she saw Sig standing right in front of her motioning to the captains chair.

"What?" she said pulling her ear buds out.

"Sit there, so I can hit the head" said Sig.

"Ok" said Samantha.

Setting down the electronics she slid into the captain's chair.

"How does it feel to be driving the boat?" asked Eric.

"I'm not driving it, it's driving itself. I'm just warming the chair" replied Samantha dismissively.

"Sig, can you pull up on the throttle" came Edgar's voice over the hailer.

"No" said Samantha in reply.

"What are you doing up there? Sitting on Sig's lap?" asked Edgar.

"No, I'm sitting on the chair. Sig will be back in a minute" said Samantha.

"Pull up on the throttle, we are going to let Junior throw the hook" said Edgar.

"I'll try but I really have no idea what you are talking about" said Samantha.

She did know what the throttle was and Eric confirmed with a nod as her hand hovered over the silver handle. Pulling it back lightly she felt the boat slow slightly.

"Is that slow enough?" asked Samantha over the hailer.

"Yeah, that should be fine" said Edgar. "Watch the bags, make sure you don't run over them."

"Ok, but I don't know how to steer" said Samantha in a panic.

"It's the black knob, it controls the rudder" said Edgar.

Samantha looked at the innocuous black knob wondering where the hell Sig was.

"Hey Sam, you are going to need to move to port a little because you are in danger of splitting the buoys" said Eric.

"Ok" said Samantha.

She slowly moved the black knob and was relieved when the boat shifted slightly to the left moving the buoys into her line of sight on the starboard side of the boat. She slowly moved the knob back to center and the boat straightened out.

"Are you having fun driving the boat?" asked Sig.

"Oh shit, you scared me" said Samantha. "What took you so long? Last time I checked boat driving was your job."

"You seem to be doing a good job" said Sig conversationally.

"Yes, well I'm done with doing it" said Samantha getting up out of the chair.

Sig slid into the chair and Samantha went back to lounging on the bench with her book and music. She left the wheelhouse briefly to make lunch and even sat in the chair while Sig ate downstairs with the rest of the crew. The rest of the day was spent either doing laundry or sitting in the wheelhouse.

Samantha went down to the galley when there were 2 pots left to make Norman's special dinner. It didn't take her long to get everything prepped. The taco meat was cooking on the stove and Samantha decided to make some spanish rice and refried beans as side dishes. While she found store bought taco shells she decided to make homemade shells out of the corn tortillas from the pantry. She'd managed to shred a gigantic pile of cheese when the guys finally trouped inside. They all looked worn out and tired. Samantha moved into high gear to make sure dinner would be finished by the time the guys finished changing and warming up. In honor of the mexican food night she mixed up some lemon lime koolaid which she labeled as Margarita. She set up the tacos on a platter, set out a platter of enchiladas, the bowl of beans and plate of rice. The entire table was filled with food by the time the guys got back to the galley. Samantha ran upstairs to tell Sig dinner was ready. He set the boat on manual and headed down to dinner. Everyone was gathered around the table when Sig and Samantha arrived. Samantha slid in next to Norman and Sig sat next to her. Norman said a quick prayer and everyone dug in.

"This is quite a spread, who knew Norman would ask for so much" teased Edgar.

"I only asked for tacos, but this is amazing" said Norman.

"My favorite is the margaritas" said Jake reaching for the jug.

"Save some for the rest of us" said Nick.

"How'd the day go?" asked Sig.

"Fine, the weather was shit all day today though" said Edgar.

"At least the pots were pretty full" said Jake.

"How close are we to topping off the tanks?" asked Nick.

"I would hope maybe cycling through the gear one more time will probably do it" said Sig.

There were absolutely no leftovers from dinner every platter was completely licked clean. Sig got up and headed back to the wheelhouse and Samantha got up and started to clear the dishes. Norman collected the rest of the dishes and helped Samantha do the dishes. Once again after checking to see where the camera guys were he started to speak.

"Thanks for making the dinner for me, it was awesome" said Norman.

"You're welcome. I'm really glad you liked it. How was it outside today?" asked Samantha.

"Horrible, I'm glad you weren't out there. I would have been worried about you" said Norman.

"Well I think I'm feeling well enough to go out tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be nicer" said Samantha.

"At least when you're outside there is someone pretty to look at" said Norman.

Samantha and Norman finished the rest of the dishes in relative silence. When the kitchen was cleaned she walked to the stateroom and crawled into her bunk.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: A quick update for jdub18399 to help her with her recovery.

Nick sighed softly and then shook Samantha again. It was her turn at watch and he wanted to get her up and go back to sleep. Again he shook her shoulder gently and brushed her hair away from her face.

"Come on Antha, it's your turn at wheel watch" said Nick.

"Why?" asked Samantha cracking her eyes open.

"I don't ask questions, I just follow orders" said Nick.

"Fine" said Samantha.

It took her a few minutes before she was actual able to open her eyes and climb out of the bunk. She slipped on a sweatshirt and a pair of wooly socks before grabbing her ipod and heading out.

In the wheelhouse Edgar waited impatiently for Samantha to show up. He was tired and decided to cut his own shift at wheel watch by a couple hours to give Samantha a shot at sitting in the big chair. When she finally appeared she was carrying an apple and her plastic bottle of water.

"You took your sweet time" said Edgar.

"What exactly am I suppose to be doing?" asked Samantha.

"Wheel watch. You sit here and make sure the boat doesn't run into any other boats" explained Edgar.

"I don't have a license to drive a boat" said Samantha.

"You don't have to drive anything, the boat is driving itself. You just need to sit here and make sure that we don't run into anything" said Edgar.

"So hypothetically lets say there is a boat in front of us, how do I avoid hitting it?" asked Samantha.

Edgar stared at her for a moment before rolling his eyes and pointing to the phone.

"Just call me and I'll be right up" he said with exasperation.

"Roger" said Samantha snottily.

"Don't fall asleep" said Edgar.

"No problem" said Samantha. "If I get tired I'll call you and you can tell me funny stories to keep me awake."

"Yeah right. Don't even think about doing that. If I hear the phone ring I'm going to assume that this vessel is in immediate peril" said Edgar.

"Wow, your nautical word of the day calendar must be coming in very handy" said Samantha with a smirk.

"I'm going to bed" said Edgar grumpily.

Samantha sat in the chair trying to find a way to get comfortable. She set her ipod to shuffle and stared out into the calm sea. A billion stars seemed to shine down onto the ocean only to be reflected back up to the heavens. For a moment Samantha realized how very tiny she was compared to the universe as a whole. After a while she started to get bored, so she decided to braid her hair. By the time she was finished her head was covered in tiny braids. Yawning for the second time in a few minutes Samantha decided that she needed to move around a little. She paced the wheelhouse a few times, each time she passed the captain's chair she'd check the console to make sure no warning lights were on. When her eyes were closing even while walking she decided she needed to do something else. An idea struck her when the ipod decided to play a song she used for her Zumba class. Deciding that a little aerobics wouldn't hurt she turned the ipod to her Zumba mix and started dancing. Before she even realized it she was jumping and dancing just like she would in a real class. She carefully reminded herself not to yell out the commands and in between songs she would check the console.

The workout kept her awake but what Samantha didn't realize was all the bouncing and jumping was waking up a few others on the boat. Edgar and Norman were the first to be disturbed by the all the ruckus. The Northwestern was a very sturdy boat however running and jumping did make a significant amount of noise. Especially when that jumping and dancing was taking place directly overhead.

"What the hell is going on upstairs?" grumbled Norman.

"I don't know" muttered Edgar.

"Who the fuck is up there?" asked Norman.

"Antha" said Edgar.

"It sounds like she's fucking bowling up there" said Norman.

"I'm sure she's fine" said Edgar.

"Go tell her to stop making so much noise" said Norman covering his head with a pillow.

"You go tell her" said Edgar.

"Fuck you. She's not even suppose to be on watch, you are" said Norman. "Go fucking tell her to knock off the noise."

"Fine" said Edgar getting out of bed.

On his walk out of the stateroom he threw a pillow at Norman's head. Norman grunted and rolled over.

"I know you don't want to go because you're too much of a pussy to say anything to her" said Edgar as a parting shot.

Norman was out of bed in a flash chasing Edgar through the narrow hallway towards the stairs. They both skidded to a stop barely avoiding colliding with Sig who was coming out of his stateroom.

"What the hell is going on up there?" asked Sig tiredly.

"We were just going to tell Antha to knock off the noise" said Edgar.

"Why is she up there?" asked Sig.

"She's on wheel watch" explained Edgar.

"Oh really? When did that happen?" asked Sig.

"Tonight" said Edgar.

A particularly loud bang made all three brothers glance at the short flight of stairs heading up to the wheelhouse.

"What the fuck could she possibly doing up there?" muttered Norman.

"Lets go find out" said Sig.

The trio crept quietly up the stairs, they wanted to catch Samantha doing whatever she was doing to make so much noise. None of them were prepared to see Samantha gyrating and jumping in a tank top and sweats pulled up to her knees. Her feet were bare and her hair was covered in braids all in various states of disarray. At the moment Samantha was gyrating her hips with her hands over her head and then jumping her feet together. At each jump the thump was heard. Norman, Edgar, and Sig all stared in disbelief at the sight before them. After striking a particularly sexy pose Samantha walked over to the console and checked it for warnings. Seeing nothing she took a sip of her water and went back to her dancing spot. Edgar tapped Norman on the shoulder and signed to him he was going to get a camera. Norman just shruged and returned his gaze to the beautiful dancer in front of him. Samantha was getting hotter and small rivulets of sweat were rolling down her chest and back soaking various parts of her tank top. During this particular routine Norman and Sig were treated to lots of boob shaking and jumping, each shake or jump caused Samantha's breasts to tremble beneath the thin material of her shirt. Edgar appeared with Eric's camera and quickly turned it on Samantha. She danced for a few more minutes before one of the moves started to take her in a circle. As she turned her eyes scanned the room and when she was about three quarters through her turn she noticed the Hansen brothers watching her from the corner. To Samantha's credit she didn't miss a beat she continued her circle and finished out the song before pulling out the ear buds.

"I'm sure it would be a better if you could hear the music" she said calmly.

Samantha walked back to the captain's chair and sat down. She glanced at the gages and confirmed everything was fine.

"Why are all of you up?" asked Samantha.

"Because all your jumping around is shaking the boat" said Edgar.

"It did not" said Samantha spinning the chair around angrily.

"You were, this boat isn't made for aerobic activity. At least not the kind you were doing" said Edgar.

Samantha rolled her eyes.

"So since you are all up can I go back to sleep?" asked Samantha.

"No, you still have another 30 minutes before Matt takes over" said Edgar.

Samantha pouted for a moment before turning back to the front.

"But if you want Norman will keep you company" volunteered Edgar.

"No I won't. I'm going back to sleep. You keep her company. Maybe she will teach you some of her cool moves" said Norman.

"Ha! I win the pool. I got that whole sentence on tape. That's the most you've ever said on camera and I got it" announced Edgar happily.

"Fuck you" said Norman pushing past Edgar and walking back towards his stateroom.

Sig and Samantha shared a brief look before Sig nodded his goodnight and left. Edgar was still doing a little jig when he realized that he was the only one of his brothers left in the wheelhouse.

"Can I offer you a suggestion?" said Samantha.

"Sure, not that I'm going to take it" said Edgar.

"I would get Eric to switch out that tape, because I'm sure Norman will try to destroy it. Have him label it B roll or something innocuous" said Samantha.

"I like how your devious mind works" said Edgar.

"You have no idea how devious my mind can get" said Samantha with a sly smile.

Edgar looked intrigued and spent the rest of the time before Matt appeared in the wheelhouse trying to see just how devious Samantha could be.

After breakfast everyone suited up for the next string. Sig's deadline was looming and he vowed to pull continuously until the boat was full. Samantha felt well enough to head back on deck to help. Samantha slipped on her rain gear before sliding her way onto the deck. Edgar was snickering uncontrollably whispering to the camera when she walked past him.

"What's up with Edgar?" asked Samantha.

"Who knows" replied Jake. "I just hope it has nothing to do with me."

They were well into the string and everything was going fairly smoothly. Sig was having them set back the pots which meant Samantha was getting in and out of every single pot before going back to help with the sorting. She'd gotten quite good at doing it without hitting her head. Although her ribs were still sore they didn't bother her enough to stop. She was still the slowest sorter, having to use the stick on each and every crab she picked up. To make the sorting go faster, the others would shift the crabs they couldn't identify as big or small to a pile in front of Samantha. The pots were full enough that the guys never really got a break between pots to rest. Sensing they were going to be working through lunch Samantha made up a quick plate of sandwiches, dropped two off for Sig and took the rest outside to the deck. She handed a few to Norman who quickly pulled off his glove and accepted the food gratefully. She moved to Edgar and offered him one.

"Will you feed it to me?" asked Edgar.

"Why?" asked Samantha.

"So I don't have to take off my gloves, my hands are cold" explained Edgar.

"Fine" said Samantha. "Don't bite me."

She fed Edgar two sandwiches which he finished off in less than two minutes. On the last bite he playfully nipped at her finger. Samantha shook her head causing her hood to fall off.

"Why is your hair so wet?" asked Edgar.

"Because it's wet out here. Although it is wetter than it usually is" said Samantha.

"You should wear a hat" said Edgar sagely.

"I don't like wearing hats" said Samantha.

Edgar shook his head and watched Samantha walk back towards the sorting table. Once there Jake, Nick and Matt all polished off the rest of the sandwiches enthusiastically.

It had been almost 12 hours since they'd eaten lunch and everyone on deck was hungry and tired. Turning and burning through the gear was exhausting to everyone especially Samantha who wasn't use to working so many hours in a row. The crew was surviving on coffee, nicotine and granola bars. Samantha walked over to the intercom to tell Sig the number from the last pot.

"Great, 3 more pots" said Sig over the hailer.

At the announcement Edgar asked Norman to take over on the hook. He walked to the bait station before walking up the stairs to the hydraulic control panel. He worked the hydros from his perch until the pot was baited and relaunched.

"Antha" called Edgar.

Samantha walked towards the rail.

"No up here" said Edgar.

Samantha looked up causing her hood to fall back.

"What do...." began Samantha.

Before the sentence was out of her mouth an entire bucket of sea water mixed with chopped herring was dropped on her by a maniacally laughing Edgar. The water and fish mixture soaked her, running down inside the rain gear getting every layer of clothing she was wearing wet. Fighting her first reaction, which was to burst into tears, she spat the fish that had gotten in her mouth on the deck before wiping her hair out of her eyes.

"That wouldn't have happened if you'd been wearing a hat" shouted Edgar smugly.

"You just made a deadly mistake" shouted Samantha.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" asked Edgar

"You forgot a very important life lesson" said Samantha savagely. "Never fuck with the person who cooks your food."

With that she spun around tossing the measuring stick at Jake before storming inside.

"I'm glad she made my favorite meal already" said Norman.

Edgar looked down at his brother a huge smile still plastered across his face.

"I'd wipe that smile off your face, she's going to get her revenge" said Norman quietly.

Edgar just shrugged his shoulders and descended the ladder retaking his place at the rail. The last few pots were brought on board, baited and launched back into the water. Once the deck was cleaned and secured everyone headed back inside. As they walked into the ready room they found a trail of Samantha's clothes leading to the bathroom. The sound of the shower told them she was still washing off the remnants of Edgar's prank.

"Too bad we weren't in here, looks like she was completely naked before she even got to the bathroom" said Jake pointing to a pair of pink underwear laying on the floor.

"Are you kidding? You couldn't have paid me enough to be in her line of fire" said Matt.

As they were congregated in the hall the door of the bathroom opened and Samantha emerged in a cloud of steam. Her hair was hanging loosely around her shoulders and her body was wrapped in a towel. She glared at everyone in the hallway before pushing past them into the stateroom.

"Edgar, it was nice knowing you" said Matt patting Edgar's shoulder.

Samantha worked in the galley on Sig's favorite dinner. The salted cod was cooking nicely in a rich milk sauce and she'd gone a little further and made Norwegian meatballs as well. The dinner looked and smelled delicious. Sig appeared in the galley before everyone else and looked around.

"Where is everyone?" asked Sig.

"Probably scared to come out of their rooms" said Samantha dismissively.

"Why?" asked Sig.

Samantha turned a disbelieving eye on him before turning back to the stove.

"I only see the deck through a tiny mounted camera" explained Sig.

"You will have to ask Edgar all about it. Can you call everyone for dinner for me, I'm going to put the food on the table." said Samantha.

"Sure" said Sig.

He walked back towards the staterooms wondering what could have happened to make 5 grown men cower in their staterooms. He knocked on Edgar and Norman's door first before opening it and going inside.

"Dinner's ready" he announced.

"What did she make?" asked Norman.

"My favorite" said Sig. "Salted Cod and Norwegian meatballs" replied Sig happily.

"Did it seem poisoned?" asked Edgar.

"Why would I have to worry about my favorite meal being poisoned?" asked Sig darkly.

"I dumped some water on her and she got upset" said Edgar. "It was nothing, just a prank."

"Some water?" said Norman in disbelief. "How about a 5 gallon bucket of sea water and bait dropped from the upper hydros."

"Fine, what he said" grumbled Edgar.

Sig said nothing, he just stared at Edgar in disbelief. Then he turned and walked back out the door.

"Regardless, it's time to eat" said Sig in parting.

Everyone took their seats at the table looking around nervously. Samantha set down a pitcher of Kool Aid that was labeled poison with a skull and cross bones drawn on the tape. Samantha sat down and served Sig a plate then served herself. Everyone watched as Samantha took a bite of everything on the plate. Once she ate the food everyone assumed it was safe for consumption. Sig dug in ravenously to his favorite meal.

"This is delicious, even if you did poison it I would die a happy man" complimented Sig.

"I must admit this is the first time I've ever made salted cod, it's a very hearty fish" said Samantha.

"I really like the meatballs and noodles" said Jake helping himself to seconds.

"Good news, I think the next string will top us off" said Sig.

"That means tomorrow will be Edgar's favorite meal" said Samantha her mouth stretching into a evil grin.

"Yum, steak and shrimp. Don't forget" said Edgar smugly.

"I won't" said Samantha.

After everyone had eaten their fill Samantha cleared the dishes to the sink and began to wash them. Sig sauntered in to help her dry.

"So are you going to kill Edgar in his sleep?" asked Sig casually.

"I don't know, do you want me to tell you first or something?" asked Samantha.

"A heads up would be nice" said Sig.

"No I'm not going to kill him in his sleep" said Samantha.

"Alright, well as long as I don't have to promote anyone to deck boss tonight I'm going to bed" said Sig.

"Thanks for helping with the dishes" said Samantha. "Good night."

Much later a small figure moved through the narrow hallway towards the stateroom at the end of the hall. Silently opening the door the intruder slipped inside collecting from the floor every article of clothing that could fousnd. With arms laden the figure slipped back into the hallway and quickly disappeared from sight.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Please enjoy and continue to review. They are like candy to me.

The next morning the crew awoke to the delicious aromas of bacon and cinnamon rolls. The guys rolled out of bed and sleepily walked into the galley, the drama from yesterday completely forgotten. Rolling into the kitchen they found Samantha setting breakfast on the table. The spread included bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, cinnamon rolls and oatmeal. Samantha set out the coffee, milk and orange juice before sitting down. She filled her plate slowly watching all the guys dig in. Sitting back she ate in silence barely acknowledging the discussion around her. Sig announced they were about an hour away from what they hoped would be their last string.

"Antha, you look sleepy" commented Nick.

"I'm fine" said Samantha rubbing her eyes.

"I didn't even hear you come to bed last night" said Jake.

"I slept out here" said Samantha casually.

"Why?" asked Jake.

"Because I was doing laundry" said Samantha dismissively.

"What are we going to do when you get off the boat" moaned Matt.

"Do your own laundry" commented Samantha.

"Probably not, it will just pile up and stink" said Matt.

"Yeah, this boat has never smelled better" said Nick.

Samantha just shook her head and started to clear up the breakfast dishes. She'd just finished the last dish when she heard a yelp, a curse and a thump come from the hallway. Smiling to herself she realized that Edgar had found her surprise.

"What the fuck is going on here" yelled Edgar from the hallway.

For a moment Samantha considered hiding but quickly realized there was no where to go, it was a boat after all. She was fairly certain Edgar wouldn't hurt her plus she wanted to see what he thought of her little prank. Edgar appeared in the galley bumping into the wall a t-shirt partially pulled over his head, one arm in one sleeve the other stuck in the middle along with his head.

"I know you're in here, I can smell you" bellowed Edgar.

"Yes, well I'm here and not hard of hearing so you can stop yelling" said Samantha.

"What the fuck did you do to my shirt?" yelled Edgar.

"I don't know what you're talking about. It looks fine" said Samantha.

She advanced quietly towards Edgar. When she was standing near enough she ran her cold fingers across his exposed stomach. Edgar jump back hitting his head on the TV shelf. Samantha's tinkling laugh filled the galley. Edgar reached out to grab her but caught nothing but air.

"You missed me" said Samantha from behind him.

Edgar spun around and Samantha placed both of her freezing cold hands on his stomach. Edgar tried to grab her hands with his free hand and just managed to tear part of his shirt. The commotion brought the other crew members into the galley.

"Edgar, what's going on?" asked Matt.

"Antha just signed her death warrant" replied Edgar.

"Oh yeah? Did you hide it somewhere in your shirt or are you just smelling yourself in there?" asked Matt giving Edgar's head a pat.

"Fuck you. A true friend would have cut me out of this by now" said Edgar.

"You don't want to ruin a perfectly good shirt" said Samantha. "Why don't you just take it off."

"You know I can't, you sewed it some how so I could get in and then not out" said Edgar angrily.

"I could cut you out of it" replied Samantha. "Without ruining the shirt."

"Then do it" demanded Edgar.

"That's not a very nice way to ask" said Samantha in a sing song voice.

"Please fix this for me" said Edgar angrily.

"Beg" said Samantha.

Everyone in the room was silent for a moment. Her demand was so ludicrous but the way she asked made every guy in the room remember she was a completely different creature.

"Fine. Antha, I beg you to cut me out of this shirt" said Edgar his words stilted.

"Hmm, ok" said Samantha.

She moved towards him, her cold hands again brushing over his belly. Using a kitchen knife she slid it carefully inside the shirt.

"Don't move or I'll cut you" she warned.

After a moment she pulled the shirt off of Edgar's head. When his face came into view she could see it was red with rage. He moved towards her and she waved the knife back and forth as a reminder that she was armed.

"Get out there, first pot's on the bow" called Sig over the hailer.

Samantha turned and dropped the knife in the drawer before walking past Edgar to the ready room. As everyone else filed on deck to start work Edgar walked back to his stateroom to get dressed.

On deck everyone was in their places, when the first pot came into view Matt threw the hook and work began. Norman was on the hydros, Nick at the rail with Matt and Jake and Antha were on bait and sorting duty. Sig watched the crews progress from his monitor and before long noticed that Edgar wasn't on deck. He gave him 5 pots before Sig called down to find out where he was. Antha picked up the ringing phone.

"Where's Edgar?" asked Sig.

"He's having a wardrobe malfunction" said Samantha before hanging up.

Sig scratched his head and set the boat on manual towards the next pot before heading downstairs to find Edgar. He found him in his stateroom surrounded by a pile of ripped clothing.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" asked Sig surveying the mess.

"She did it to every single thing I have" said Edgar.

"Did what?" asked Sig.

"Sewed the fucking neck closed or the arms or the sleeves or something to make them unwearable" whined Edgar.

"So wear something of Normans" said Sig.

"I can't find any of his clothes or anyone else's" said Edgar.

"What the hell are you talking about? There are clothes all over the ground" said Sig pointing to the piles littering the floor.

"They are all mine and if their not then they're underwear or undershirts" said Edgar.

"Wow, she got you good" said Sig.

Edgar shot him a death glare before returning to the sweatshirt he was cutting.

"Well at least you have the pants you're wearing. I'll give you something from my stash to wear" said Sig.

Edgar gave Sig a pained look and stood up. As he walked out of the room Sig noticed that sewn to the back of his pants were the letters ASS. He stifled a laugh and decided never to cross Samantha about anything.

"There is no fury like a woman scorned" said Sig to himself.

Edgar eventually dressed and suited up before heading outside. The crew jeered him about taking so long to get dressed teasing him about his need to dress to impress. Edgar took it with little grace and a lot of cursing. Samantha however, loved every moment of it.

The day warmed up significantly and by the time the crew was half way through the string everyone was taking off their rain jackets to work in just their sweatshirts. Jake helped Samantha out of her jacket and noticed something weird about her hood.

"Hey Antha, why are there tears in your hood?" asked Jake.

"I didn't realize there were tears" said Samantha.

Matt walked over and looked at the tiny tears in the top of the hood, small enough for Samantha not to notice but large enough to let water through. Suddenly Samantha realized who was behind it.

"I'm sure it was Edgar" she said quietly. "Anything to try to make me wear a hat."

"Well at least you already got your revenge" said Jake.

"Part of it anyway" said Samantha.

"By the way Antha, nice sweatshirt" commented Matt.

"Do you like it?" asked Samantha. "The carebears are really making a comeback."

Samantha twirled around showing off the kelly green sweatshirt with a huge shamrock in the front. She even pulled up the hood showing the two little bear ears sewn to the top. Matt reached out and tugged on one of the ears pulling Samantha towards him.

"Hey, don't tug on the ears, they could rip off" said Samantha.

"You certainly know how to sew them back on" said Matt knowingly.

"Even so, I don't want to have to do it" said Samantha.

Matt gave them one last tug and then moved back to the rail.

"So what else do you have planned for Edgar?" asked Jake.

Samantha just shrugged and shoveled some more bait into a hanging bag.

"Come on you can tell me" begged Jake.

"Are you sure you want to know? You could be considered an accomplice and that could cause a lot of problems for you in the future" said Samantha. "I'm getting off this boat in a few days and you are the self proclaimed future of the company."

"Very true, don't tell me anything. I like being able to deny knowledge" said Jake. "Besides Edgar is going to get you back."

"Why is he going to get me back? I just got him back for the bucket thing!" stated a very frustrated Samantha.

"I'm just telling you what's going to happen" said Jake.

"That is lame" said Samantha.

Jake looked at her quizzically before patting her on the shoulder and walking away. Samantha finished the bait set up she was working on and walked over to hang it on the sorting table. The work went quickly in the warm sunshine and calm conditions. Everyone worked well together regardless of the obvious tension between Edgar and Samantha. Sig was anxious to keep the crew working in order to get the string pulled as quickly as possibly so they could head in. According to his calculations the back tank should be filled before the string was over and the rest of the crab in the string could be stuffed into the other tanks. Even after the season's set backs Sig was still going to be able to deliver on time to the processors. He glanced down at the deck for a moment to watch the crew working on deck. Everyone seemed to be working well, no one was getting water dumped on them or pushing anyone.

Samantha was in the galley making a quick hot lunch. On the menu today was chicken tortilla soup with quesadillas. Sig was going to shut down the turn and burn operation for a few minutes so everyone could eat together. Deciding the guys could use an extra treat Samantha had made a chocolate cake from a box of mix she'd found in the pantry. The cake was sitting on the counter frosted with homemade cream cheese icing. Samantha heard the guys coming in and quickly moved the cake to the back of the kitchen so it could be a surprise.

"Wow Edgar, nice ass" said Matt.

"Yeah well stop admiring it. I thought we went over the sexual harassment rules with you" said Edgar.

"Right, I must have forgotten" said Matt.

Matt whacked Jake and Nick on the shoulders before pointing to the word stitched to the back of Edgar's pants.

"Oh shit" muttered Nick.

Edgar spun around eyeing the trio behind him.

"What?" asked Edgar.

"Nothing. Just admiring your ass" replied Nick.

Edgar spun around like a dog chasing its tail trying to see what everyone was looking at. The guys stifled their laughter at Edgar's spinning. Samantha however made no attempt to stop her laughter. She was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was struggling to breath. Nick walked over to her and patted her gently on the back and handed her a water bottle.

"You my dear have a serious death wish" said Nick.

Samantha nodded attempting to get her laughing under control. Meanwhile Edgar had realized that something was on his pants, but he couldn't see what it was. In a show of frustration he ripped off his pants leaving him clad only in a t-shirt and boxers. Samantha's giggle died in her throat and her mouth suddenly began to water as she took in Edgar's sculpted legs. Her perusal of his body was cut short by his voice.

"ANTHA, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!" he yelled.

"Run" said Nick pushing Samantha towards the stairs leading up to the wheelhouse.

Reacting immediately she started to run, she didn't even make it halfway up the stairs before Edgar caught up with her. He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. Samantha squirmed in a vain attempt to get away and Edgar slapped her on the ass.

"You are already in big trouble, don't make it worse for yourself" said Edgar.

Samantha stopped struggling and just enjoyed the view. Edgar's boxers nicely displayed his assets.

"We are going to miss lunch" said Samantha.

"You are going to miss much more than that" said Edgar.

"But I made your favorite cake" said Samantha insistently.

"Oh really?" asked Edgar.

Samantha had no idea what Edgar's favorite cake was but figured any excuse to get Edgar to return her to the galley.

"Yes, it even has homemade frosting on it" said Samantha. "You can kill me later, I don't want to die without having a piece of cake."

Sig appeared in the hallway and looked between Edgar and Samantha.

"What's going on? Where are your pants?" asked Sig.

"We were just going down to have lunch. I made cake" said Samantha.

"Antha, did you break a leg or something?" queried Sig.

"No, she's in trouble" said Edgar.

"You can punish her later. We have work to do" said Sig.

Edgar spun around and headed back to the galley.

Everyone ate lunch trying to ignore the palpable tension radiating between Edgar and Samantha. Edgar never took his eyes off of Samantha throughout the entire meal. When everyone was almost finished Samantha got up and Edgar was immediately at her side.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To get the cake" answered Samantha.

Edgar escorted her the few feet to the kitchen to get the cake. Samantha fished a knife out of the drawer and grabbed some paper plates. Edgar grabbed the stack of plates from her along with napkins and forks so she could carry the cake with both hands.

"It's Edgar's favorite" announced Samantha. "So he gets the first piece."

Samantha cut and served the cake giving everyone a huge slice.

"This is so good" said Jake.

"How did you know it was Edgar's favorite?" asked Sig.

"Because the mix was in the pantry" replied Samantha.

"How does that tell you it's his favorite?" asked Matt.

"Because he buys the food, so he'd obviously pick his favorite" lied Samantha.

"You are very lucky I like chocolate cake and this frosting is the best I've ever tasted" said Edgar. "But don't think it makes up for what you did."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!?" exploded Samantha. "I sewed your stuff to get you back for dumping the water on my head and ripping holes in my hood."

"I only did those things to prove why you should follow my rules and wear a hat" said Edgar.

"I don't like wearing hats. I can't believe that you can't just get over it. I have hoods on my sweatshirt and my rain gear I feel that's enough" said Samantha.

"It's a rule. It's my rule and you are disrespecting it" said Edgar.

"You never told me it was a rule. In fact I was never told a lot of rules that are apparently common knowledge on this boat" said Samantha.

"Like what?" challenged Edgar.

"Like the hat rule, or the rule that I can't jump around in the wheelhouse or the rule that there should be 3 hot meals everyday. And that it's apparently completely acceptable to pee all over the toilet seat" ranted Samantha.

"We are on a boat, peeing in a straight line is difficult" said Edgar.

"It's like you are pretending to be a sprinkler in there" said Samantha.

The rest of the guys watched the argument like a tennis match, their eyes going back and forth between Samantha and Edgar.

"Back to work" said Sig interrupting the fight. "You two can hash this out on the way to town."

"Fine" said Edgar and Samantha in unison before stomping towards the ready room.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: This chapter took a while to write, but as a bonus it's long and contains a bit of adult material at the end. Please read and review.

The work on deck went fairly smoothly, the last half of the string would surely stuff the tanks on board. Everyone was working with the same goal in mind, finish the string and get the boat turned towards town. Samantha and Jake were a great team working as best they could to get the pots baited and the crab sorted as quickly as possible. Samantha did her best to get in and out of the pots fast in order to protect herself from Edgar, just incase he got any ideas about revenge. She knew it was coming, she just hoped it wouldn't be out on deck. She was already cold, wet and fairly miserable however she knew that he could make it much much worse in a moment.

"Antha, do you want to learn a new skill?" asked Matt.

"Sure" said Samantha.

"Come on over, you can learn to throw the hook" said Matt.

Samantha slipped and slid over to the rail. Edgar eyed her warily before walking over to the intercom.

"Sig, slow down. Antha is going to try her hand at the hook" said Edgar.

"Ok, put a lifejacket on her" said Sig.

"Roger" replied Edgar.

Walking to one of the supply closets he pulled out a lifejacket for Antha. He walked back to the rail and placed his hand on Antha's shoulder. She jumped a mile and skittered away towards the rail. Edgar caught her wrist and then showed her the lifejacket.

"Why do I need this?" asked Samantha.

"Sig suggested you wear one" said Edgar.

"Are you going to throw me overboard?" asked Samantha warily.

"No" said Edgar.

Samantha looked suspicious.

"I swear I will not throw you overboard" said Edgar raising his hand. "It's just a precaution to keep you safe."

"Fine" said Samantha.

Edgar helped her into the lifejacket tightening it around her slender frame. With a final pat to her shoulder he turned her over to Matt for instruction.

"Ok Antha, this is the hook. The goal is to throw this hook, catch the line and pull it in" explained Matt. "Do you think you can do it?"

"I'll try" said Samantha.

Matt handed her the hook which was a lot heavier than she expected. Sig drove the boat as close to the buoy as he could to try to make her first throw as easy as possible. Samantha walked to the edge of the rail and tossed the hook as hard as she possibly could. The hook splashed into the water a few feet shy of the line.

"Well close but no cigar" said Matt. "Try again."

Samantha tried again throwing it even harder, this time she managed to hook the line.

"Alright, you got it on your second try. That's better than Junior did on his first time on the hook" said Matt. "Now pull it in."

Samantha pulled the line in hand over hand until the hook was back in her hand with the line. Matt showed her how to put the line in the block and turned it on. The whole process was really confusing for Samantha and Matt took mercy on her and ran the block for her. Samantha threw the hook on a total of 5 pots before she started to miss consistently.

"Antha, are you getting tired?" asked Matt.

Samantha nodded and handed him the hook.

"You did a good job" said Norman.

Samantha smiled and returned to bait duty with Jake.

The rest of the string seems to fly by for everyone. Sig announced the last 5 pots which gave Samantha her cue to head inside to make dinner.

Edgar and the guys walked into the galley an hour later to the smell of garlic. Samantha was showered, changed and cooking up a feast in the kitchen. There were filets of beef cooking in the oven while on the stove 3 different shrimp dishes were being prepared. Edgar walked into the kitchen and checked out what Samantha was cooking. She handed Edgar a spoon and motioned for him to taste the dishes. Edgar looked at her suspiciously and hesitated.

"I'm not going to poison you" said Samantha. "It would be the waste of all my hard work."

"Alright" said Edgar.

He dipped his spoon in the shrimp scampi, the spicy tomato shrimp and finally grabbed a fried shrimp off the top of the stack. All the dishes tasted amazing and Edgar attempted to dip his spoon again but was stopped by a crack on the knuckles.

"Just a taste" said Samantha.

"Fine. It's really good. Thanks for making my special dinner even though we hate each other" said Edgar.

Samantha smiled and shoved him playfully out of the kitchen.

"You're suppose to say we don't hate each other" said Edgar.

Samantha just shrugged and turned back to the stove. Edgar stared at her for a moment then headed to his stateroom to change.

Dinner was a happy affair everyone was excited about heading to town. The boat was absolutely stuffed with crab which made Sig very happy. The rest of the crew was happy because they had a chance to sleep on the trip to town and once they got to town they'd get to hit the bar. Samantha was excited to be heading to dry land but slightly worried about what awaited her regarding employment.

"Antha, this is the best Edgar meal we've ever had" said Nick.

"It's going to be sad to see you go. The dinners just won't be the same" said Sig.

"Yeah, I'll have to go back to making them" said Matt.

"Thanks for all the compliments. I'm sure you'll be fine without me" said Samantha with a smile.

"It certainly isn't going to smell as nice with you not here" said Jake.

"Ok, that was kind of a weird compliment" said Samantha.

"You know because you do all the laundry and that's not going to get done" explained Jake.

"Yeah, there will be no pillow washing once you're gone" said Matt.

"I don't understand why doing laundry is so hard for all of you" said Samantha.

"It's not hard, it's just annoying and we don't really need clean clothes or fresh pillowcases" said Edgar.

"Or clean bathrooms" added Samantha.

"We, don't have to sit down all the time so we don't feel it needs to be so clean" said Edgar.

"Gross" said Samantha.

"Are you going to go to the bar with us when we get back to town?" asked Jake.

"Sure, I'd love to let you buy me a drink" said Samantha with a wink.

Dinner was pretty much done and Samantha got up to get the special dessert. She'd made vanilla cupcakes with Northwestern blue icing. She set the cupcakes on the table and smiled. On each cupcake she'd attempted to write each of the crew members names.

"Sorry Norman, your name was a little long. I could only fit Norma" said Samantha.

Norman just shook his head knowing that Samantha had just given every guy on deck a new nickname for him.

"I'm sure Norma doesn't mind" said Edgar.

Norman punched Edgar in the arm in response. Samantha rolled her eyes and handed out the rest of the cupcakes. Once everyone had finished their dessert Samantha cleared the table and started on the dishes. Since it had been Edgar's meal he helped. The dishwashing was a relativly silent affair. When everything was cleaned, dried and stowed Samantha dug through the freezer picking out a frozen package of sausage for tomorrows breakfast. Once she'd done that she headed up to the wheelhouse to ask Sig a few questions. Edgar watched her leave and wondered if she really hated him.

Sig sat in his chair grinning gleefully at the numbers on the notebook page. The boat was stuffed with crab and if his calculations were correct he'd be almost halfway through his quota after this delivery. He turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, from the light tread he knew it was Antha. He had something important to speak to her about but wasn't sure how to bring it up.

"Hi Sig" said Antha once she crested the stairs.

"Hi Antha. Dinner was delicious" he said.

"Thanks" replied Samantha. "How long until we reach Dutch?"

"About 26 hours if the weather holds" answered Sig.

"Wow, that's a long time" said Samantha.

"Well the winds are against us and this was our farthest string" said Sig. "Are you anxious to get off the boat?"

"I just wanted to know how many more meals I needed to plan for" said Samantha.

"Ah" was all Sig said.

Samantha sat quietly in the port side chair watching the boat slip through the dark water. The sodium lights were on, illuminating a little of the water around the boat but in the distance it looked dark as pitch. The birds which followed the boat while it was actively fishing had all but disappeared. Samantha felt a pang in her chest as she realized she would never be so far away from the stresses of civilization again.

"Why so sad?" asked Sig.

"I think I'm going to miss how peaceful it can be out here" answered Samantha.

"You could always stay" said Sig.

"No thanks, the peacefulness does not take away the constant fear I live in on this boat or the dangers of working" said Samantha.

"We'll always keep you safe" said Sig seriously.

Samantha turned to look at Sig's fierce look and smiled. She knew every guy on the boat would do anything in their powers to keep her safe.

"I know" said Samantha quietly.

"I would think after all the shit that has been going on over here you'd want to get some well deserved sleep" commented Sig.

"Not really. The moment I close my eyes is when Edgar is going to strike" said Samantha.

"He's tired too" said Sig.

"I don't think he's ever too tired to prank" said Samantha warily.

"Try to get some rest, if not by sleeping maybe you can just put your feet up or something" said Sig.

"I'll do something relaxing" said Samantha vaguely.

She visited with Sig a few more minutes before excusing herself and going downstairs.

Samantha made herself some hot cocoa with marshmallows and sat down on the counter in the galley. She looked down at her fuzzy socks and then pulled up her pant leg. The hair on her legs was a little out of control. Deciding now was as good a time as any to do some personal maintenance she wandered into the bathroom and grabbed her razor and some of her body soap. Samantha returned to her perch on the counter and filled the sink with a few inches of warm water. Not wanting to get her pants wet she removed them and set them aside. Starting with one leg she slowly and methodically shaved her legs. She'd finished the right leg and had just switched to the left when a voice bellowed.

"Where the hell are your pants?"

Sig's voice startled her and she cut her leg before dropping the razor into the soapy water. The shout brought everyone out of their respective staterooms and into the galley. Samantha just sat on the counter staring in shock at everyone's faces, her leg was dripping blood into the water.

"Sig, you scared her" said Norman.

He walked over and grabbed a few paper towels and placed them firmly on the cut. The pressure on her leg brought Samantha back to the present and she replaced Norman's hand with her own. Reaching down she found the razor in the water and set it on the counter. Next she pulled her feet out of the sink and dried them on the small hand towel she'd taken out of the bathroom before checking the cut. The flow of blood had slowed to an ooze so Samantha rinsed it with a little clean water before she dried it with the towel.

"I think the yelling was a little overzealous" said Samantha turning to the assembly.

"Where are your pants?" repeated Sig.

"Right there" said Samantha pointing to the neatly folded sweats.

"Why aren't they on your body?" asked Sig.

"Because I didn't want to get them wet while I shaved my legs" said Samantha.

"You can't walk around this boat with no pants on" said Sig.

"Why not? Jake doesn't have pants on right now" said Samantha.

Jake was indeed just wearing his boxers.

"I'm not talking about Jake. It's not appropriate for you to walk around with now pants" said Sig.

Samantha raised an eyebrow, clearly challenging the validity of Sig's statement.

"I don't think it's a big deal" said Samantha.

Proving just how much she didn't care she hopped down from the counter showing everyone her underwear before she grabbed her sweats and slipped them on.

"Happy now?" asked Samantha.

"Yes" replied Sig.

"Who's driving the boat?" asked Samantha.

Sig shook his head and turned to return to the wheelhouse. Once the excitement of a bottomless Samantha was over everyone else returned to their bunks leaving Samantha blissfully alone.

As the night wore on Samantha quietly slipped into the staterooms collecting each guys laundry. Her goal was to wash everything one last time so the guys would have a clean clothes to start the next leg of the trip. As she folded the laundry she contemplated all the adventures she'd had on the boat in the last few weeks. She'd certainly never cooked so many meals or done so much laundry. She'd almost died while managing to save the entire operation by cutting line off a propellor in the middle of the bearing sea. It truly had been an amazing adventure. She couldn't help but laugh, any job after this would seem like a piece of cake. After the laundry was folded she carried it back to the staterooms and dropped it off on the guys bags. She was fairly sure she'd gotten everything back to the proper owner. After the laundry was done she went back to the kitchen and thew together a breakfast casserole for the next day. She was unsure how long she'd actually get to rest so just in case she got to sleep in she left the directions for baking written on a post it on top of the tinfoil. She made a fresh pot of coffee before cleaning up her mess and closing up the kitchen.

Standing in the bathroom Samantha was combing her hair. It had taken her a while to get all the tangles out, but now it was finally smooth. She parted her hair on the side and suddenly froze.

"No fucking way" she muttered to herself.

Reaching into her toiletry bag she dug through it until she found a pair of tweezers. Taking into consideration the shifting boat she carefully pulled her first grey hair out of her head. She stared at the innocuous hair squeezed between the two metal tines. Her anger was bubbling out of her. There was only one person to blame for this and he was about to get a very rude awakening. Samantha stormed down the hallway and burst into the stateroom Edgar shared with Norman. Flipping on the light woke up both brothers. However, Edgar was woken up even further by the unexpected weight now pressing down on his chest.

"Do you know what this is?!?" yelled Samantha.

"No" said Edgar, his eyes still closed.

"Open your fucking eyes and look" said Samantha.

Edgar's eyes slowly opened, both were full of sleep and for a moment they crossed while he tried to focus on the object in Samantha's hand.

"I still don't know what it is" replied Edgar.

"It's a fucking grey hair" said Samantha.

"So, we all have them, even junior" said Edgar trying to move his hands from under Samantha's knees.

"Well I've never had one. In my 29 years of life I've never gotten one until I met you" said Samantha. "And I've had some pretty ridiculous jobs and none of them gave me a grey hair"

"You can't possibly blame me for that" said Edgar in disbelief.

"I hold you completely responsible" said Samantha.

"Will you two just kiss and get it over with, I want to go back to sleep" said Norman covering his head with a pillow.

Samantha's head snapped over to glare at Norman and Edgar attempted to use her distraction to push her off of him. Unfortunately for him Samantha clearly saw this move coming and clamped her thighs around his body pinning him in place.

"You have really strong legs" commented Edgar.

"Is that suppose to be a compliment?" asked Samantha directing her attention back to the prone man beneath her.

"Yes, it's a very nice compliment considering you are trying to squeeze me to death with them " said Edgar.

Samantha frowned down at Edgar her eyes alight with anger.

"You're also kind of sexy when you're mad" said Edgar with a roguish smile.

"Edgar, you just don't know when to quit" muttered Norman.

Edgar struggled to get Samantha off of him but she was able to move and sway her body keeping one step ahead of his attempts to dislodge her. After a few minutes he gave up and laid still.

"So, what are you going to do to me?" asked Edgar.

"I'm going to pluck every single hair off your body" said Samantha.

"You should get started, it's going to take you forever" chimed Norman.

"I think you're right. Where do you think I should start?" asked Samantha.

"Norman, who's side are you on?" asked Edgar.

Norman just shrugged and propped himself up on one elbow enjoying his front row seat. Samantha turned around quickly sitting further up on Edgar's chest. Her flat feet were now pressed into Edgar's hands, her toes clutching his middle fingers in order to keep his hands from moving. Next she pulled up the hem of his t-shirt exposing his stomach. Using the tweezers she plucked a few hairs off him.

"Oh fuck, that hurt" yelled Edgar.

"Don't make me gag you" said Samantha.

"How do you plan to do that?" taunted Edgar.

Lifting herself off his chest she moved her bottom back and completely covered Edgar's face. While Edgar was strangely close to being suffocated to death he really couldn't think of a better way to go. Norman was laughing hysterically.

"Ohmay, I met it" said Edgar his voice muffled.

"Hey, don't talk through me like that" said Samantha moving back to sit on his chest. "How would you like me to do that to you?"

In order to prove her point she leaned down and said a few words into Edgar's crotch. He certainly had no problems with it.

"You could do that to me any time you want" said Edgar.

"Ugh, you are impossible. How about I let you choose which testicle I pull off with these tweezers" said Samantha.

Edgar decided that enough was enough, he tilted his hips to the side and pushed Samantha as hard as he could in order to toss her to the floor. To her credit she managed to hold on twice but by the third toss she landed in a heap on the floor. Edgar was on top of her immediately.

"Now who's in charge?" said Edgar menacingly.

Samantha rolled her eyes and squirmed a little to see how tight Edgar was holding her. She wasn't able to move at all. Edgar looked down at her prone form and smiled, she really was beautiful when she was angry. Deciding to take a chance he leaned down and kissed her. Samantha was shocked at the kiss, she fought against him for a moment before surrendering herself to his soft lips and questing tongue. Norman got up quietly and left the two to their own devices.

Edgar threaded one of his hands through Samantha's hair grasping it gently and tilting her head so he could deepen the kiss. She tasted like peppermint and he couldn't get enough of her. Deciding that breathing was going to have to take precedence he pulled back just enough to catch his breath before leaning forwards and sealing his lips to hers again. Samantha struggled to free her arms and Edgar moved slightly to allow her a little freedom. Her hands snaked around his body slipping under his shirt to caress his skin. His body was toned and as her hands slipped over his chest she heard his growl in approval. Moving slightly Edgar untangled his hand from Samantha's hair and slipped it beneath her shirt. With no hesitation he reached for her breasts, plucking at her nipples. Samantha's head tipped back and a very sexy moan escaped her mouth. Edgar smiled and moved to seal his mouth to hers. After a searing kiss he moved down pulling up her shirt and exposing her breasts to the cool room air. Her nipples were instantly hard a reaction that made Edgar's mouth water. Leaning forward her kissed the tops of her breasts gently before moving his lips down to encase one of her nipples. Samantha rocked her head back and forth surrendering herself to the wonderful feelings Edgar's tongue was eliciting. She imagined it must be talented considering how much talking he did. Samantha could feel Edgar's erection rubbing against her leg and she reached down to stroke it gently. In response Edgar bit down gently on her nipple.

"Do that again" moaned Samantha.

Edgar smiled around her breast and bit down again this time a little harder. Deciding that the t-shirt was in his way he pulled it off of Samantha and tossed it over his shoulder. As he laid her back down on the rough carpet he saw her wince.

"Lets move this somewhere more comfortable" said Edgar.

Samantha nodded and scrambled up onto Edgar's bunk. Before Edgar settled himself over Samantha he shucked off his shirt.

"Now we match" said Edgar.

"That's nice, I know how much you value fairness" said Samantha.

Before Edgar could retort the phone rang. Both Samantha and Edgar stared at it hoping it would stop, but after the beeping continued he finally picked up.

"What?" said Edgar.

"The boat isn't staying in gear, I think it might be the filter or the pneumatics " said Sig.

"Does it need to be fixed right now?" whined Edgar.

"Of course it does, we are practically dead in the water and it's blowing 50. Get down there and fix it, I'll meet you there" barked Sig.

Edgar hung up the phone and looked down at Samantha's exposed chest and sighed. He gave each nipple a kiss then kissed Samantha soundly on the lips before getting up and dressed. Samantha however, was not going to take this lying down or rather she was. Her hand immediately slipped into her pants and she brought herself off to a quick orgasm right in front of Edgar's wide eyes.

"Don't do that again until I can make it happen" said Edgar.

"Ok" replied Samantha.

Edgar attempted to adjust his erection before heading to the engine room to find out what was going on.


	18. Chapter 18

**Please continue to read and review.

Edgar stomped down to the engine room trying not to imagine what he could be doing instead. Sig was standing there waiting for him anxiously pacing around the main engine. Edgar slapped on some ear protection and walked over to where Sig was standing.

"Well? What's the problem?" asked Edgar.

"It seems like the throttle isn't staying in gear" said Sig.

"Who's up in the wheelhouse?" asked Edgar.

"Norman" replied Sig.

Edgar nodded then turned off the main engine leaving the boat dead in the water. He quickly assessed the pneumatics for issues and found nothing out of the ordinary. Next he checked the filters, which were dirty but not dirty enough to cause an issue. He called up to Norman to ask him the range the RPM's were running. Once he had his answer he went back to work on the pneumatics, eventually he found a problem and started to work on repairing it.

"What are you doing?" asked Sig.

"Fixing your boat" answered Edgar.

"I meant what are you doing with Samantha" said Sig.

"Nothing right now, I'm working on your engine" said Edgar angrily.

"You know what I mean. Don't you think she deserves better" said Sig.

Edgar threw down the wrench he was holding and stood up.

"Who the fuck are you?!" bellowed Edgar. "Do you think she deserves you?"

"At least I'm a captain" said Sig.

Edgar's jaw dropped open and before he could haul off and hit something Sig continued.

"But that's not what I meant" said Sig quickly. "She's young, she lives in LA and she deserves better than a fisherman who is only home 2 months out of the year."

"I'm not planning to marry her" said Edgar exasperatedly.

"Then what do you want to do? Just sleep with her on the boat and then leave her at the dock?" asked Sig. "She definitely deserves better than that."

"God Sig, I don't know what I want" said Edgar. "Actually I do, I want to finish this repair and get back to my bed where hopefully Samantha is still waiting for me. After that, I don't know."

"Edgar, I think you should be careful with her" said Sig. "She's young and delicate."

Edgar rolled her eyes, Sig clearly had no idea the Samantha that he knew.

"Alright, lets fire up the main and see what's going on upstairs" said Edgar wiping his hands.

"That was fast, I hope that's the only problem" said Sig.

Edgar just shrugged and started walking out of the engine room. Sig followed in his wake hoping this repair was finished and that Edgar would think about their conversation.

Samantha finally dragged herself out of Edgar's bunk and started to walk back towards her stateroom. She was intercepted in the hallway by Norman. He steered her back the way she'd come from. Once they were back in the stateroom he sat her down on Edgar's bunk before taking his spot across from her.

"I wanted to talk to you about Edgar" said Norman.

"Ok" said Samantha her voice confused.

"I think you should think about what you are doing" said Norman.

"Think about doing what?" asked Samantha.

"Think about what you are doing with Edgar" repeated Norman.

"I haven't done anything with him" said Samantha.

Norman quirked an eyebrow expressing his complete disbelief in her statement.

"Really? Nothing happened when I left?" asked Norman.

"We kissed and he got to see my boobies" said Samantha.

Norman snickered at the word boobies and Samantha rolled her eyes in response.

"I'm just saying that you should be careful. Fishermen do not make good husbands" said Norman.

"Um, I wasn't aware that we are getting married" said Samantha.

"You know what I mean" said Norman.

"I don't. We kissed, he got to see my boobs, maybe if we hadn't been interrupted then it would have gone farther but at no time would there have been a marriage proposal or an exchanging of rings" said Samantha heatedly.

"I didn't mean to upset you" said Norman.

"I'm not upset, it just seems weird that you are so interested in my nonexistent relationship with Edgar" said Samantha.

"We just want to protect you and Edgar from yourselves" said Norman.

"Who's we?" asked Samantha.

"Me and Sig" said Norman.

"I see" said Samantha. "Well if that's all. I'm going to go to bed."

"Sleep tight" said Norman.

Samantha walked quickly back to her stateroom and climbed into bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Her dreams were filled with Edgar.

The engine seemed to be running better, it still didn't get up to the highest RPM but it would get them safely to port. Edgar finally released from Sig's questions and advising headed back to his stateroom. As he walked in he was disappointed to see his bunk empty. He'd hoped Samantha would be in his bed, naked and waiting. But he suppose he'd have to wait, he certainly wasn't going to go to her bunk. He wanted to have her all to himself without an audience. Norman was laying in his bunk feigning sleep.

"What's up with you?" asked Edgar.

"Nothing. Did Sig talk to you?" asked Norman casually.

"Why?" said Edgar warily.

"I was just wondering" said Norman.

"Is this some sort of plot against me having fun?" asked Edgar.

"No. We just want you two to make smart decisions" said Norman.

"You two? Did you talk to Samantha?" asked Edgar.

"Yes, Sig agreed he'd talk to you and I would talk to her" explained Norman.

"What did she say?" asked Edgar.

"That you got to see her boobies, but that was as far as it went" said Norman.

"What did you tell her, specifically?" asked Edgar his voice taking on a steely edge.

"I told her the truth, that fishermen don't make good husbands" said Norman.

"Did she think we were going to get married?" asked Edgar.

"No, not at all" said Norman.

"You and Sig need to mind your own business and stay out of my life" said Edgar.

"We just don't want to see you hurt little brother" said Norman.

Edgar rolled his eyes and collapsed on his bunk immediately slipping into sleep. His dreams filled with porn star fantasies staring Samantha in all the leading roles.

The next morning Matt was up first, he stumbled into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. He thought it was a little odd that Samantha wasn't up yet, but figuring she deserved to sleep in, decided to make breakfast. Opening the fridge to rustle up some grub he found the breakfast casserole and quickly slipped it into the oven. The smell of the cooking breakfast woke everyone else. As they filed into the kitchen everyone was surprised at Samantha's absence.

"Where's Antha?" asked Sig.

"She's still sleeping" answered Jake.

"With who?" asked Sig immediately.

Everyone's eyes swiveled to Sig. His ludicrous question catching everyone off guard.

"By herself" answered Jake.

"Just checking" said Sig.

He and Norman caught each others eyes and nodded. Everyone else in the room saw the exchange and immediately started to wonder what the older brothers were up to. Samantha arrived in the kitchen just in time to get the last piece of casserole. As she ate she felt everyone's eyes on her especially Sig and Norman.

"Did you sleep well last night?" asked Sig.

"Yes, I slept like a baby and had very nice dreams" replied Samantha. "When do we get to Dutch?"

"In another 10 hours" said Sig.

"Are you going to play cards with us?" asked Matt.

"Sure" said Samantha. "But first I want to set some stuff out for lunch."

Matt and Nick cleared the breakfast dishes and cleaned up the galley. Samantha pulled out ingredients for irish stew and slowly began assembling the dish. In a little less than twenty minutes the stew was bubbling on the stove. Matt sat on the counter next to Samantha watching her every move.

"What's up?" asked Samantha.

"Just trying to memorize what you did so I can make the same thing" said Matt.

"It's a great one for you to make because you can set it on the stove in the morning and the longer it cooks the better it will be" explained Samantha. "If you want I'll write down the recipes I made on the boat and you can add them to your repertoire."

"That would be great, although there is no way I would be able to do it as fast as you" said Matt.

"It takes a lot of practice but if chopping and dicing is a problem then you should get a food processor" said Samantha.

"Yeah, well I can't imagine asking Sig for that" said Matt. "He'd just tell me to work on chopping faster."

Samantha smiled at Matt before walking out of the kitchen towards her stateroom.

Edgar woke with a start, he'd been having a wonderful dream about Antha and was bothered that someone or something woke him up. He looked over at the small digital clock and realized that he'd missed breakfast. With a sigh he rolled over and went back to sleep, desperate to try to recapture the wisp of his dream. As he settled back into sleep a warm hand brushed his hair back from his forehead and a warm pair of lips placed a gentle kiss on the revealed flesh. Edgar struggled out of his sleep but when his eyes finally cracked open he found himself completely alone. Dragging himself out of bed he grabbed his towel and headed to the showers. As he walked down the hallway he inhaled the delicious smells coming from the galley. Deciding he'd shower later he walked into the galley hoping to find Samantha slaving over the stove. Unfortunately the only people there were Matt, Nick, Jake and Norman. All four were involved in a card game. Edgar passed them heading towards the bubbling pot on the stove.

"It's not ready yet" said Matt.

"Says who?" asked Edgar.

"Antha, it will be done in a few hours" said Matt.

Edgar just shrugged before grabbing an apple off the counter and walking back to shower.

Samantha was ensconced in her bunk finishing the final installment of her diary. She planned to give the notebook to Eric to give him a few ideas for story lines while he was logging tapes. All her entries were dated and on some she even wrote what time certain things occurred to make syncing with the video. She'd already finished writing out the recipes for Matt and once she finished these notes she was going to seek out Edgar. She'd checked on him an hour ago and he was still fast asleep. She hadn't wanted to wake him, since she assumed he'd had a late night. Plus every time she walked anywhere on the boat Norman or Sig seemed to intercept her. Finishing her last sentence she flipped the notebook back to the first page and began to reread her adventures. She edited some of the entries, added some new facts or funny anecdotes and when she was satisfied with everything she went out to find Eric. She found him outside shooting B roll. Eric noticed Samantha and quickly finished up his shot before swinging the camera off his shoulder.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I have something I wanted to give you" said Samantha.

"An exit interview?" asked Eric.

"Nope. Something better. This is my diary, I've written in it every single day since I've been on the boat. It has what happened, when and who was effected. I thought you could use it to help you flush out some story lines" said Samantha handing Eric the notebook.

He took it and reverently turned the pages studying Samantha's neat handwriting.

"Thank you. You don't know what this is going to mean for us" said Eric. "My girlfriend and I might actually be able to spend the holidays together."

"Well it's just for this trip, so you will have to do the other ones on your own" said Samantha.

"Yeah, but this is going to help a lot" said Eric with a smile. "I'm sure you are going to feature prominently in the early episodes."

"We'll see. I mean how are they going to introduce me? A contest winner, an employee, the new boat mom?" said Samantha. "And then how are they going to explain my sudden disappearance."

"Who cares, maybe we won't even introduce you just throw you in and let people get to know you while the episodes unfold" said Eric. "Or edit so it looks like you're here all season. You know those editors can do wonders."

Samantha just shrugged, she couldn't imagine her scenes being very interesting. The lone exception was the footage of her diving to free the propellor. A fine mist had started to fall and Samantha slipped her sweatshirt hood over her hair and headed inside.

The card game in the galley was getting heated. The guys were using pretzels as betting chips which was proving to be a problem since each one of them had taken to unconsciously snacking on their winnings. Samantha strode past them into the galley to check on her stew. She gave it a quick taste before adding a bit more seasoning and tasting again. When she was satisfied she lowered the temperature and began pulling out the ingredients for irish soda bread.

"Antha, I thought you were going to play with us" said Matt.

"I'm just going to make some bread and then I'll play" said Samantha.

"Fine, but hurry up. I'm eating all my winnings" said Matt.

Samantha just chuckled as began to slowly mix the ingredients together on the counter. She watched the game bemusedly as she cooked. If seemed like Norman was the best player, his natural poker face made it almost impossible for the other guys to determine if he was bluffing or not. Setting the bread on the rack to proof she slid into a seat next to Jake and pulled a stack of pretzels out of the bag for her chips.

"What are we playing?" asked Samantha.

"5 card stud" replied Matt as he dealt out the cards.

Samantha got a quick refresher coarse in the hands and quickly settled into the game.

"Ok, I raise you two" said Matt.

"Call" replied Samantha.

"Show me what you've got" said Matt.

Samantha turned over her cards revealing a pair of 10's. Matt turned over his cards and he had 3 of a kind.

"I won! Take off your shirt" said Matt.

"I thought we were playing for snack treats, not stripping" said Samantha.

"The game has suddenly changed" said Matt with a leer.

"Right, well lets just keep it about the pretzels" said Samantha.

"Come on, a little strip poker makes it more fun" whined Matt.

"I need to put my bread in the oven" announced Samantha.

She got up and sashayed into the kitchen to work on her bread. Once the bread was popped in the oven Samantha grabbed a cup of coffee and went up to the wheelhouse hoping to escape the card game.

Sig sat in the wheelhouse smoking a cigarette a satisfied smile on his face. The numbers were excellent and in a few hours they would be in port and unloading. He'd stuffed the boat in the past but if his estimation was correct this would be the single biggest offload in the boats history. He turned at the sound of footsteps, surprised to see Samantha holding up a cup of coffee.

"I thought you'd be resting" said Sig.

"I slept a lot last night and in another day I'll be sleeping in a very large, very soft hotel bed" said Samantha.

"Sounds like you are looking forward to it" said Sig.

"I'm really looking forward to taking a nice long bath" said Samantha.

Sig smiled at Samantha then glanced at the RPM gage and frowned.

"Have you seen Edgar?" asked Sig.

"Not today" replied Samantha.

"Take over, I need to go find him. The RPM's are dropping again" said Sig.

Samantha slid into the captain's seat and watched Sig scurry out of the wheelhouse. Looking out over the console her eyes widened. The waves were huge and as the boat dipped down into one the wave broke over the bow causing spray to coat the wheelhouse windows. Samantha reached over and grabbed the hailer.

"I need someone else to be up here these waves are crazy" she said over the boats loudspeaker.

The thunder of footsteps on the stairway were a welcome sound to Samantha's ears. Norman was the first to crest the stairs and Samantha immediately relinquished the captain's chair.

"Did Sig leave you up here?" asked Norman in surprise.

"Yes, he needed to find Edgar. Something about the RPM's" said Samantha.

Norman looked down at the console and realized that the boat's engine was struggling a little.

"Jake, go down to the engine room and see if Sig and Edgar are down there" said Norman.

"Roger" replied Jake as he disappeared down the stairs.

Nick lit a cigarette and passed it to Samantha. She gratefully accepted it, taking a long drag.

"Thanks" said Samantha quietly.

"Sit down, you're shaking a little" said Nick.

Samantha took Nick's advice and sat down on the bench seat. Nick slid in next to her placing a calming hand on her knee. Norman worked on keeping the boat up against the waves allowing the bow to take the brunt of the waves. Samantha finished her cigarette, snuffed it out and drew her knees up to her chest. Her arms wrapped like bands around her legs making her look small and frightened.

"Don't worry. It's fine. We are just a few hours away from Akutan. We'll unload there and then head to Dutch for repairs" said Nick soothingly.

Samantha nodded and dropped her head to Nick's shoulder. The phone rang and Norman picked it up.

"The RPM's are hovering around 1000, but not over" explained Norman.

"Alright, that should be fine to get us to Dutch" said Sig.

"Roger" said Norman.

He hung up the phone before turning back to the windows to concentrate on guiding the boat safely through the storm.

"Hey Antha, when's lunch ready?" asked Matt.

"Oh shit, the bread" exclaimed Samantha.

She darted downstairs to rescue lunch.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews.

The Northwestern pulled into Akutan port just after 10 at night. The Trident Seafood processor was anxiously awaiting Sig's arrival. There was no wait and the Northwestern was immediately signaled to the dock. The unloaders lowered the brailers onto the deck and the entire crew walked out on deck to see the catch. As the bolts were released and the hatches were opened it became very clear the Northwestern was truly stuffed with crab. As the first tank was opened and drained the crabs were already trying to make a final bid for freedom. Samantha picked up a wayward crab and tossed it back into the tank.

"It's looking great" said Sig.

"Yeah, I've never seen it this stuffed" said Edgar.

"It's going to take them a while to unload all this" said Sig. "Lets make sure we keep an honest tally for them."

"I'll get the notebook" said Norman.

Samantha took the first shift of writing down the totals. Sig sat next to her for most of it noting how heavy the crab were. Every time he made a comment Samantha smiled and patted his knee.

"Did you think there would be this much crab in the hold?" asked Sig.

"No. I can't believe how much actually fits in the boat" replied Samantha.

Sig just smiled smugly then got up and headed inside. The moment Sig was out of sight Edgar looked around the deck before sidling up to Samantha.

"Hey" he said.

"I give them 2 minutes before they come out here and tell you to do something" said Samantha.

"Probably, lets make the most of it" said Edgar.

"Hang on" said Samantha as she wrote down the weight of the brailer. "Ok."

Edgar leaned down and was about 2 inches from kissing Samantha on the cheek when Norman slammed open the door.

"Edgar, Sig wants to see you" announced Norman.

Samantha and Edgar began laughing hysterically.

"Check ya later" said Edgar.

Samantha just smiled and waved as Edgar took the outside stairs up to the wheelhouse. Norman slid into the seat Edgar had just vacated.

"Was I interrupting anything?" asked Norman.

"Kind of, but I assume that was the plan" said Samantha.

Norman brushed off the question and grabbed the notebook from Samantha's hands.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"Good, the crabs are very heavy" said Samantha.

"Says who?" asked Norman.

"Says Sig and he's the captain so I'm sure he knows best" said Samantha with a roll of her eyes.

"If you want to rest or something I can take over" said Norman.

"Sounds good" said Samantha.

"Don't be too hard on him, he's probably out of practice" said Norman.

"Who are you talking about?" asked Samantha.

"Edgar" said Norman.

"Um, ok" said Samantha in confusion.

Edgar had finished sitting with Sig in the engine room looking through each of the engine's pneumatic components. Nothing was resolved except for Edgar's feeling that Sig was just down here to keep him away from Samantha.

"Sig, I can't find the problem. We need to go to Dutch and have it checked out" said Edgar in exasperation.

"Fine, I just hoped we'd be able to just turn around and get back out to our gear" said Sig.

"Really? We're just going to leave Samantha here?" asked Edgar in disbelief.

"She can fly out of here just like she can fly out of Dutch" replied Sig dismissively.

Edgar's eyes narrowed angrily.

"Or she can stay on the boat for the rest of the trip" said Sig quickly.

"Stay on the boat?" asked Edgar. "Why?"

"Because it's been nice to have someone make meals without bitching and everyone gets along with her, she's not costing us anything" explained Sig.

"It has been nice" said Edgar.

"But if she stays the no sex on the boat rule will be enforced" said Sig seriously.

"When did that rule start?" asked Edgar.

"It's always been there" said Sig.

"What for? In case Nick and Junior decide to take their relationship to the next level?" scoffed Edgar.

"Exactly. Besides it's not fair for one person on the boat to be getting some and leaving the rest out. It's like when you chew gum in class, you either don't chew it or have enough to share with everyone" said Sig.

"So basically if I want to have sex with Samantha then everyone gets to?" asked Edgar.

"Theoretically yes" said Sig.

"You have completely lost your mind" said Edgar.

"I'm just letting you know the rules" said Sig.

Edgar shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and left the engine room. Sig watched his retreating back wondering what parts of this conversation he'd be sharing with Samantha.

Samantha was sitting on the floor of the stateroom packing her clothes. All the shirts and pants were rolled into neat bundles waiting to be placed in the duffle bag. She was wearing a pair of bunny pajamas and a tank top. Matt and Nick were laying on their bunks watching her progress through half lidded eyes. Jake was fast asleep on the floor and Samantha had taken to using him as an impromptu table. He was currently holding a dozen pairs of socks balanced on his softly rising chest.

"Antha, I don't want you to go" said Matt sleepily.

"I only promised to stay until the winds changed" replied Samantha.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Nick.

"Right now I'm going to finish packing, then I'm going to sleep" said Samantha.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. What are you going to do once you get back to LA?" asked Nick.

"Look for a job. I'll maybe do some freelance editing until I find something permanent. It really depends on what's out there" said Samantha.

"Is it going to be hard to find a new job?" asked Matt.

"I have no idea. I'll probably have to work on my resume" said Samantha.

"We can help" volunteered Matt.

"I may take you up on that. Can I use you as a reference?" asked Samantha.

"Of course" said Matt. "Although I suggest waiting until after red crab season so your future bosses can actually get a hold of me."

"Good point. Maybe I'll take a nice long vacation until you guys are done fishing" said Samantha with a dreamy smile.

"Where would you go?" asked Nick.

"Somewhere warm and tropical. Maybe the caribbean" said Samantha.

"You should just wait and we'll go with you" said Nick.

"I don't know how much of a vacation that would be" said Samantha.

"It would be an amazing vacation. I promise" said Matt with a smirk.

"Hmm, I'll have to think about it" said Samantha.

Finishing up the last of her packing she climbed into her bunk and closed her eyes. Edgar appeared in the room an hour later and narrowly avoided stepping on Junior. Using Nick's bunk as a stepping stone he hoisted himself into Samantha's bunk.

"Hey Antha" he whispered.

"Hi" replied Samantha sleepily.

"Come with me" said Edgar. "I want to tell you something."

"Ok" said Samantha sleepily.

Edgar hopped down onto the floor and waited patiently for Samantha to climb down behind him. Once she was safely on the ground he guided her over Jake's sleeping body and into the hallway.

Edgar pulled Samantha into his stateroom which was blessedly empty. Pulling her down onto his bunk he laid down next to her. His lips sealed over hers and his hands flitted over her sleep softened body. Samantha stroked her hands under his shirt and attempted to pull it off him.

"Wait" said Edgar disengaging himself from Samantha.

"What? I thought we were waiting for this?" asked Samantha.

"I know, but I had a talk with Sig" said Edgar.

"Ok" said Samantha.

"He wants you to stay on the boat for the rest of the trip" said Edgar.

"What does that have to do with us? Doing this?" asked Samantha slipping her hands over Edgar's thigh.

"The only catch about us is that it needs to be fair for everyone" said Edgar.

"I don't understand" said Samantha.

"Basically if I have sex with you on the boat then everyone has to have the same opportunity just to be fair" explained Edgar.

"Like some sort of Northwestern gang bang?" asked Samantha.

Edgar bit his lip and looked away, the imagery that Samantha conjured up with her words making him hard.

"But that's only the rule on the boat" said Edgar helpfully.

"Oh" said Samantha. "But if I stay on the boat then no sex."

"Not necessarily" said Edgar.

"So you want me to have sex with everyone on the boat so it will be fair?" asked Samantha in disbelief.

"No. I mean unless you want to" said Edgar.

Samantha sat up and stared out at Norman's empty bunk trying to imagine herself laying in it. She shook her head unable to picture the image. Edgar's hand stroked down her back.

"I didn't mean to suggest that you do anything. I just wanted to tell you Sig's rule. A rule which I should mention I'm happy to break at any time" said Edgar.

"I don't want you to get in trouble" said Samantha.

"But trouble is my middle name" said Edgar with a smirk.

"I bet" said Samantha.

Edgar maneuvered Samantha so she was sitting astride him, his hands cupped her face and drew her mouth down into a searing kiss. Samantha's hands moved to twine into his hair scratching her nails along his scalp. Edgar's hands slipped into the back of her pants kneading the flesh of her bottom. Samantha responded by grinding herself down onto Edgar's erection. Slipping his hands to the hem of her tank top he was just about to lift it off of her when the door to the stateroom flew open.

"Hey, you're wanted on deck" announced Norman.

"Go fuck yourself" replied Edgar.

"I would never be able to if you're in here. Besides, I thought there was a rule of no sex on the boat" said Norman.

"Oh Sig said that if everyone gets some then it's fair" said Samantha.

Norman couldn't say anything his mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water. Edgar got up pulling Samantha with him.

"Well lets go see what Sig wants" said Edgar pulling Samantha with him out of the room.

As they walked down the hall Edgar couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Did you see Norman's face" said Samantha between giggles.

"Antha, you are in for a world of trouble" said Edgar.

**So clearly this story has the options of going two ways. I'm open to suggestions if you'd like to give me your opinions.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Please note this chapter contains adult situations, consider yourself warned. Please review if the mood strikes you.

With the unload finally finished Sig headed inside the processor office to see what the total catch was and get the check. Everyone was on deck waiting for the numbers to see how large of a chunk they'd caught of the quota and who won the pool of closest to the actual poundage. Samantha was the dark horse putting her total at 200,000 lbs. Edgar and Sig had both informed her that they'd never put that much on the boat and they doubted it would hold those kinds of numbers. Samantha had just shrugged and stuck to her initial bet. Everyone watched as Sig hopped down onto the deck of the boat a huge grin stretching from ear to ear.

"It must be good news" said Edgar.

"It's amazing news" said Sig.

"Well don't leave us in suspense" said Nick.

"We caught over two hundred thousand pounds" said Sig.

"What? No!" said Edgar.

"Yes, it's amazing. We've never had that much on the boat" said Sig.

"I won the pool" announced Samantha.

"Yes you did. Congratulations" said Sig.

"What do I win?" asked Samantha.

"Bragging rights" answered Sig.

"How much are bragging rights going for these days?" asked Samantha.

"More than you think" said Edgar with a wink.

The crew moved inside and Sig quickly headed up to the wheelhouse to get the boat to Dutch. The rest of the crew sat in the galley discussing their plans once they reached town.

Hours later the Northwestern docked in Dutch. There were a few other boats moored along the docks but not many. Samantha stood on deck while lines were tossed and secured. She was excited about checking into the hotel and taking a very long hot shower. Her bags were packed and she was very ready to get off the boat. Dressed in jeans and a sweater she looked ridiculously out of place on the deck of the crab boat. Once the engine was killed Sig appeared outside the wheelhouse, he surveyed the deck and his eyes locked onto Samantha.

"Antha, you are free to go" he said. "But you are also free to stay."

Samantha smiled and glanced down at the bag at her feet. Sig walked down the outside staircase, striding over to where Samantha was standing. Once he reached her he stuck out his hand. Samantha took it and gave it a firm shake before leaning up to give Sig a hug and peck on the cheek. Sig returned her hug and gave her a very non-friendly kiss on the lips.

"Alright Sig, that's enough" said Edgar.

"Thank you for quite an adventure" said Samantha.

"Thank you for all the meals, clean laundry and everything else you did for us" said Sig. "And know that you are always welcome as a member of our family."

Samantha smiled tearily at Sig before embracing him fiercely again. Then she walked to Norman and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. Next she walked to Nick and did the same and so on until she reached Edgar.

"Come with me" she whispered as she gave him a hug and kiss.

Samantha stood back and Edgar reached down to grab her bag.

"I'm going to take her to the hotel" said Edgar.

"The mechanic is coming in the morning" said Sig. "You need to be here."

"I'll be back, I'm just taking her to the hotel" said Edgar.

"Hurry and get her checked in and meet us at the bar" said Sig. "I owe all of you a drink."

"Roger" said Edgar.

He tossed Samantha's bag up onto the dock before helping her scale the side of the boat. Once they were both on deck he hoisted her bag onto his shoulder and walked towards the trucks.

Checking into the hotel was a breeze, the night clerk didn't seem to think anything strange about someone asking for a room in the early hours of the morning. With keys in hand Samantha and Edgar eagerly took the elevator up to the floor pausing only for a few stolen kisses before hurrying down the hall to the room. Sliding the key into the electronic reader the door was pried open and Samantha and Edgar fell into the room like giddy teenagers. Her bag was dropped unceremoniously by the door while she and Edgar fell onto the bed. There was no talking just the sounds of clothes being removed and the smacking of wet kisses being shared. Edgar easily removed Samantha's sweater but found the jeans to be too challenging to do on his own. Meanwhile Samantha had stripped Edgar down to his boxer briefs with no problems.

"Before you get me completely naked, lets get you out of these jeans" said Edgar stilling her hands on his waistband.

Samantha nodded and dropped her hands to her own jeans deftly removing them from her person. Left in just a bra and underwear she turned to face Edgar on the bed before removing the last vestiges of her own clothing. In turn Edgar also removed his underwear before falling onto Samantha. The feel of their naked bodies rubbing against each other was more than either could take. Edgar's hand slipped down to Samantha's crux testing it to find her wet and ready. His fingers began to tease at her clit.

"No playing. I feel like the last few days have been foreplay enough" said Samantha.

Edgar just nodded before lining himself up and sliding home, causing both to moan in ecstasy. The weeks of pent up teasing was more than either could take. The sex was rough and hard both taking all they could from the frenzied contact. Edgar rolled them over so he could watch Samantha ride him. In his eyes she looked like a goddess as she pinched and pulled at her nipples before leaning down to capture his lips in a kiss. His fingers found her clit and he plucked at it until her body fluttered in orgasm. When Samantha stopped moving Edgar once again rolled them over and pounded into Samantha until he came. They both laid together in a sweaty heap trying to catch their breaths. Both of their heads snapped up as the room phone began to ring. Samantha leaned over to answer it but Edgar stopped her.

"It's probably Sig or Norman telling us it's time to get to the bar" said Edgar.

"Do I have time to take a shower?" asked Samantha.

"Nope, just get dressed and lets go" said Edgar.

"Hmph" pouted Samantha but nevertheless began to get dressed.

"Besides it's a huge turn on to know you're walking around with a little piece of me inside you" said Edgar kissing her temple.

Samantha rolled her eyes and pulled on her jeans. They were both dressed in a matter of minutes.

Sig slid the phone back across the bar to the bartender. He hadn't been able to reach Samantha and he hoped it was because she and Edgar were already on their way. Before he walked back to the table he ordered another round of drinks for the guys. They'd managed to put more crab on the boat on this trip than any other in the history of the company and for that they all deserved a reward. Sliding into the booth he caught Norman's eye and shook his head. Norman's response was a shrug. The waitress brought the drinks to the table and Sig passed out the shots and beers.

"To a job well done" said Sig.

Everyone raised their glasses but before anyone could take a sip they were interrupted.

"Hey, no toasting without me" said Edgar.

"Where's Samantha?" asked Jake.

"Right here" answered Samantha.

"Be right back, I need to get a few more shots from the bar" said Sig.

"Sit down, take a load off" said Nick.

Samantha moved in next to Nick and Edgar slid in next to her.

"How come your hair is back up?" asked Matt.

"Because it was bugging me" replied Samantha.

"Or is it because it got totally messed up somehow?" said Matt in his best innocent tone.

"I suggest you knock that shit off" said Edgar menacingly.

"I only speak the truth" said Matt.

Sig returned carrying a pair of shots and coke. He set the shots in front of Samantha and the coke in front of Edgar.

"Cheers" said Sig.

Everyone knocked back their shots including Samantha.

"Wow, you shot that like a champ" commented Jake.

"Thanks, it wasn't as bad as it looks" said Samantha.

"Well don't just sit there, drink your other one" said Sig.

"Why do I have two?" asked Samantha.

"So you can catch up" replied Nick.

"Oh" said Samantha before throwing back the shot.

"Why were you late?" asked Sig.

"I didn't know there was a scheduled time" said Edgar dismissively.

Sig and Edgar appeared to have a completely wordless conversation using only eyebrow movements as semaphore. When they were finished both looked away in disgust leaving the rest of the table quickly finding somewhere else to look. A few hours later Samantha excused herself to go to the bathroom. As she walked back from the bathroom she was pulled into a small alcove by Edgar. He placed a kiss on her lips to quiet her and then led her out the back door.

"Where are we going?" asked Samantha once they were a small distance from the bar.

"Back to your hotel room" said Edgar.

"Aren't we going to be missed" said Samantha.

"Probably, but I don't really care. I can't stop thinking about all the different parts of you I have yet to explore. I'll be back on the boat by the time the guy comes to look at the engine" said Edgar.

"If you are willing to deal with your brothers' wrath then it's fine with me" said Samantha giving Edgar's ass a pinch.

Edgar and Samantha walked into the hotel room and she set the key on the small table. Edgar grabbed her from behind and started to tug at her jeans. Samantha forestalled his hands and turned in his embrace.

"I desperately want to take a long hot bath" said Samantha.

"Come on I don't have that much time" whined Edgar.

"I know, so I'm going to settle for a shower and you can join me" said Samantha.

She squirmed out of Edgar's arms and walked to the bathroom shedding her clothes along the way. Edgar caught up to her as her panties dropped onto the bathroom tile. Turning on the shower Samantha tested the water before pulling Edgar into the small cubicle with her. Their bodies slid together as the soothing water pulsed around them. Samantha pulled the small bottle of shampoo from the soap dish and squirted a small amount into her hand. She reached up and began to lather it into Edgar's hair taking special care to keep the building suds from spilling into his eyes. When she was finished she switched places with him allowing his to rinse beneath the spray. Edgar followed her lead and washed her hair and at Samantha's request conditioned it as well. As they soaped each other's bodies hands began to roam from their assigned task and soon the entire situation had disintegrated into fondling and teasing. Finally Edgar had enough and swiftly picked up Samantha sandwiching her against the wall. In response she wrapped her legs around his waist and somewhat awkwardly plunged herself down onto his turgid length. Edgar took up the maneuvering, got them settled against the wall and began to plunge in and out of Samantha with abandon. While pinning her arms to the wall he managed to lean down and take one puckered nipple into his mouth. Drawing on it elicited delightful moan from Samantha. Edgar's mouth released her and his hands moved to Samantha's butt supporting more of her weight. At this angle he was able to watch his dick plunge in and out of Samantha's willing body, it was a heady sight and he could have watched it for hours. Samantha's walls began to flutter in the first signs of approaching orgasm and Edgar set to his task of making her cum. Samantha dropped her fingers to her clit and plucked, effortlessly bringing herself to a intense orgasm. Edgar wanted to hold on longer but felt as if his cum was being forcefully pulled from him by Samantha's pulsing body. After a moment Edgar set Samantha down on shaky legs and picked up the wash cloth to rewash her body. Samantha did the same taking care to place a delicate kiss on the head of his penis as a thank you. Once they dried off they collapsed on the bed. Samantha leaned over and placed a wake up call for 8 am before surrendering herself to sated sleep.

Edgar walked to the dock with a spring in his step. He had managed to have his way with a half asleep Samantha before heading back to the Northwestern. He'd left her sleepy and sated in bed wearing nothing but a smile. As he approached the boat he was relieved to not see the mechanics truck. He'd had his cake and managed to get back to the boat on time. He hopped onto the eerily quiet deck and looked around. He assumed someone would be outside smoking but that was not the case. He went inside and found Norman sitting at the table looking as if he was nursing a very bad hangover.

"Hey Norm, what's up?" asked Edgar.

"I should just kill you now to save you from Sig" said Norman.

"Is he mad?" asked Edgar.

"You have no idea, we all ended up getting into some stupid drinking contest with him just to keep him from going after you" said Norman.

"Oh shit, what time did you guys get back?" asked Edgar.

"A few hours ago, maybe less" said Norman.

Edgar walked over to the pot of coffee and picked up the pot. He swirled the contents and gave it a tentative a sniff then poured it out in the sink. He started a new pot and the first drips were just falling into the pot when he heard the sounds of heavy steps in the hall. Nick appeared looking horribly roughed up.

"Hey Nicky" said Edgar.

"Fuck you" replied Nick.

"Why don't you go back to sleep" suggested Edgar.

"Because this boat is constantly rocking and it's making me want to puke" snapped Nick.

"I made coffee" said Edgar pleasantly.

"Right, I'm sure that will help" said Nick sarcastically.

Nick poured himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a bottle of water before sliding into the galley table next to Norman. Edgar heard the rumble of a truck driving on the dock and quickly excused himself to meet the engine repair guy. The repair man had just gotten down to the deck when a very rough looking Sig appeared at the top of the wheelhouse steps he glanced down on the deck and was visibly surprised to see Edgar standing there. Without a word Sig turned on his heel and headed back inside.

"Wow, Sig looks like he had a rough night" said the repair man.

"Oh yeah, everyone on the boat probably looks the same" said Edgar.

"Except you" said the repair man.

"Yeah, well I wasn't around for the drinking contest" said Edgar with a smile. "Lets get to the engine room."

It took the repair man a few hours to determine the problem and realize that he would have to order a part from Anchorage. He optimistically thought the part could be flown in on Monday which meant the crew had a whole weekend in Dutch. Which meant that Edgar had a whole weekend with Samantha. He thanked the repair man and told him to call the boat when the parts were in. Once the repair man was off the boat Edgar headed inside to let Sig know what was up. As he walked into the galley he saw Jake holding Sig's mug of coffee and the bottle of aspirin.

"Hey Junior, is that for Captain Ahab?" asked Edgar.

"Yep" said Jake.

"I'll take it to him" said Edgar. "I need to update him on the engine."

"Here you go" said Jake gratefully handing Edgar the cup and bottle.

Sig laid in his bunk trying to make the room stop spinning. His leg was on the ground in an attempt to ground himself against the tilt a whirl ride he was on. The door to his stateroom swung open and banged loudly against the wall causing him to wince.

"Fucking hell, you look like shit" said Edgar.

"Why aren't you with the repair guy?" asked Sig.

"Because he's done. He needs to order a part from Anchorage, it won't be here until Monday at the earliest" explained Edgar.

"Unacceptable, we are going to loose 4 days of fishing" said Sig.

He attempted to sit up and after a few tries was somewhat successful. Edgar carefully handed him the cup of coffee before pouring a small pile of pills into Sig's outstretched hand. Sig threw the pills into his mouth and washed them down with a few sips of brew.

"Well if that's all that's going on today I'm going to head out" said Edgar.

"Where are you going? We have to restock the food and we can clean a few things and get set for the next leg of the trip" said Sig.

Edgar stood in front of Sig wondering how long he would have to work to appease him. He was anxious to get back to Samantha but knew his responsibility was to the boat first.

"Roger" said Edgar.

"Edgar, make sure the guys are helping" said Sig.

"Are you going to make an appearance today?" asked Edgar.

"Yeah, in a little while" said Sig laying back down.

Edgar waited for a few moments waiting for Sig to say something else but when it became apparent no further communication would be given he left. The rest of the day past quickly with Edgar degreasing some of the engine parts and making a list of what needed to be restocked. When his work for the day was almost over a figure appeared on the dock. Shielding his eyes from the sun he realized it was Samantha and that she was carrying a crate that seemed to be filled with food.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I have the story flushed out to the end, now it's just a matter of finding the time to write. Please continue to read and review. I'll try to do better at posting in a more timely manner.

Samantha set down the last platter of food on the galley table. The guys had already opened the bottles of wine so they could breath. The roast chicken was already carved into pieces and dotted with fresh thyme and lemon as garnish. The garlic mashed potatoes infused with truffle oil were piping hot and the green beans were so fresh they snapped. The whole meal was fresh, nothing on the table was previously frozen, a rare treat for all the guys. Samantha slid into the seat next to Edgar and grabbed the bottle of wine. She poured a bit of wine into the motley collection of glasses on the table. Everyone reached out and took a glass.

"To a safe and prosperous season" said Samantha.

Everyone clinked glasses and took a sip. The wine was delicious even for the most unseasoned of wine drinkers. Edgar's hand slipped under the table and gave Samantha's knee an affectionate squeeze.

"So Antha, when are you heading back to LA?" asked Jake.

Edgar stiffened next to Samantha anxiously awaiting her response. Although he knew she would need to get back to her life in LA he'd hoped she would stay, at least until the boat left Dutch.

"I hadn't really thought about it" said Samantha taking a sip of her wine.

Edgar visibly relaxed at her answer and took a hearty bite of his dinner. The dinner passed amicably and since Samantha hadn't brought dessert the guys decided to adjourn to the local watering hole for an after dinner drink.

Edgar and Samantha had dutifully sat at the bar for a few hours with the guys before they were able to sneak away. Safely back inside the comfort of the hotel room they ravaged each other stripping off clothing with lightning speed. Edgar managed to get Samantha completely naked before she was able to get more than his shirt off. Backing her to the bed he laid her down on the coverlet before leaning over to kiss a trail down her body. He stopped for a short time at her breasts, capturing each nipple in his mouth and giving them a fleeting nibble before continuing his journey south. He bypassed his goal giving just a kiss to her mound before moving to her feet. He kissed the arch of each foot before twining kisses along her thighs. As he moved back up he pressed her thighs farther apart until his shoulders were wedged between them. Samantha felt a little self conscious about being displayed so lewdly but the moment Edgar's mouth landed on her she forgot about being shy. He teased her with gentle kisses and slow laps of his tongue. Samantha pulled a pillow under her head so she could gaze down into Edgar's eyes. When he wasn't studying her femininity he would look up and their gazes would lock for a few moments. He eyed her searchingly and when he found what he was looking for he would give her a grin and return to his task. He licked at sucked at her clit before moving to tongue her opening. When his fingers joined his tongue Samantha immediately began to cum. Her legs closed on Edgar's head like a vice holding him in place until she rode out her orgasm. Slowly moving his fingers out of her body Edgar moved up and placed a kiss on her mouth. Samantha reacted immediately slipping her tongue into his mouth savoring the taste of herself. Edgar returned the kiss with fervor while trying to get his pants off. Samantha took the initiative and hooked her toes into his waistband efficiently pushing them down his body.

"Neat trick" said Edgar.

"Thanks, I have a few more I'd like to show you" said Samantha with a cheeky grin.

"Later" said Edgar.

He lined himself up and sunk home. As they rode towards the pinnacle together their hands entwined and their gazes locked together. They both reached the peak at the same moment, Samantha's wall fluttering around Edgar's pulsing cock. Edgar laid down next to Samantha careful not to crush her. Samantha moved her head to his chest listening to his pounding heartbeat.

Edgar moaned quietly in his sleep, he was having a wonderful dream about having sex with Samantha. He could feel himself in her warm heat. Samantha watched his face from her perch between his legs, his cock growing hard in her mouth. She was trying to see how long she could pleasure him before he woke up. If he began to rouse from sleep she would back off slightly drawing back to mimic the fading of a dream. Samantha carefully slipped a finger between her legs to touch herself. She was wet and her finger easily slid over her clit turning her on even more. Abandoning her original plan she climbed on top of Edgar sheathing herself on his cock. The moment her pussy enveloped him Edgar's eyes shot open and a moan was pulled from his throat. His hands immediately settled on her hips guiding her movements. Samantha pulled at her nipples before bending down slightly to offer them to Edgar. He sat up and took one into his mouth giving it a hard pull before letting it go with a pop. Samantha offered him the other but instead of taking it in his mouth he pinched it with his finger. After a few minutes Edgar started to get antsy.

"What is it?" asked Samantha.

"We've done it this way already" pouted Edgar.

Samantha quirked an eyebrow before smiling indulgently and getting off him. His cock slapping wetly against his stomach. She moved onto all fours in front of him presenting herself to his eager eyes. Edgar was on her in a moment, driving into her with a force that took her breath away. The new position allowed Edgar to push farther into Samantha's willing body. He could feel himself bottoming out and relished the sensation. Giving Samantha a playful slap on the ass he got down to the business of fucking her.

"Touch yourself" grunted Edgar.

Samantha quickly complied touching her clit and occasionally reaching back to brush her fingers along Edgar's length as it plunged in and out of her. Striving towards orgasm Samantha began to move back against Edgar her walls began to pulse which sent Edgar over the edge. He came with a shout and they both collapsed on the bed. Samantha struggled out from underneath Edgar's crushing weight.

"Sorry" mumbled Edgar rolling off of her prone body.

Samantha responded by giving him a tired kiss and snuggling into his side. They both drifted back into sleep.

Sig paced the wheelhouse like a man possessed. He expected Edgar back on the boat by morning and it was now almost noon and he was no where to be found. As a rule there was no sex allowed on the boat however in the event that a crew member got lucky they were allowed to spend the night off the boat but they were expected to make it back the next morning. Edgar was breaking the rule and it was making Sig's blood boil. With a scowl firmly set on his face he walked down through the galley and onto the deck. His angry visage was noted by Matt who quickly reached for his cell. Sig hopped onto the deck and walked over to the truck and climbed in. He found the keys in the visor and sped off down the dock. Jake had noticed Sig leave the boat and hurried inside to let the others know. Before he even made it to the door Matt appeared on deck.

"Did Sig leave?" he asked.

"Yep, like a bat out of hell" answered Jake.

Matt nodded and opened his phone. Pressing a few buttons he slammed it shut again.

"I hope he gets this" said Matt.

Jake just nodded wearily. Sig was clearly looking for a fight.

Samantha nudged Edgar slightly at the sounds of his buzzing phone. It was resting on the nightstand and had been buzzing constantly for the past few minutes. Eventually she gave up on rousing Edgar from sleep and climbed over him and grabbed the phone. There were 15 text messages all from Matt.

"Hey, Matt's trying to text you" said Samantha.

"Open it" muttered Edgar his hands wrapping around Samantha's body.

Samantha opened the text and stared at the one word text. She shrugged and opened the next message and it had the same one word.

"What did he say?" asked Edgar kissing her breast bone.

"Run" said Samantha.

Edgar sat up so fast he knocked Samantha backwards onto the bed. He grabbed the phone from her hand and quickly scrolled through all the messages, they all just repeated RUN!!

"Oh shit, Sig's on his way and he's mad" said Edgar scrambling out of bed.

"You got all that from one word?" asked Samantha.

"Yep, it's a code we used when we were kids growing up" said Edgar while pulling on his clothes.

"Should I be worried?" asked Samantha.

"No, he won't hurt you" said Edgar dismissively. "But he's probably going to kill me."

"Why?" asked Samantha.

"Who knows. Listen, I've gotta go" said Edgar rushing over give Samantha a quick kiss.

"Have a nice day" said Samantha.

"Wish me luck" said Edgar.

"Good luck, I'll try to stall Sig as long as I can so you can get a good head start" said Samantha.

"Thanks" said Edgar.

He was out the door and running towards the stairs before Samantha could say goodbye. She sat on the bed debating whether she had time to take a bath before Sig arrived. Deciding that she probably did she got up and started the water. She had wrapped the fluffy bathrobe around herself and was just slipping into the soapy water when there was the distinct sound of the key card in the door.

Sig barged into the room expecting to find Edgar and Samantha in some sort of compromising position. In fact the whole way over to the hotel he'd been imagining them in all sorts of scantily positions. Each new imaginary scenario made Sig more irate. He'd got to the front desk and demanded a key to Samantha's room, the clerk knew Sig and happily turned over a duplicate. With the key in hand Sig had stomped to the bank of elevators and had to restrain himself from punching out the speaker spewing out muzak during the ride up. Now that the door was open he swung it open and stormed into the room. He was surprised to see an empty bed. As he scanned the room he heard the distinct sound of water running in the bathroom. He quietly opened the bathroom door and saw Samantha laying in a tub full of bubbles. Her eyes were closed but at the sound of the door opening they opened, her gaze traveling up from his feet and finally coming to rest on his hair. Sig fought the urge to run his hand through it.

"Hi Sig" said Samantha. "What brings you by?"

"I didn't think Edgar was capable of holding his breath so long" said Sig advancing on the tub.

"Me neither, it's really impressive" said Samantha.

When Sig reached the tub he glanced into the whirlpool tub for a moment before dropping his hand into the tub reaching around to find Edgar. The only thing he found were Samantha's legs and when his hand started to climb up her legs she quickly moved them up to her chest wrapping her arms around them. Sig's hand pull back as if shocked. When he pulled his arm out of the water the bubbles were displaced enough to see that the tub was empty except for Samantha. Sig turned an angry frown onto Samantha who merely shrugged in response. Deciding to change tactics Sig took a seat on the toilet across from the bathtub.

"Have you thought about what you are going to do now?" he asked.

"Not really" said Samantha.

"If I were you I'd want to get that squared away as soon as possible" said Sig. "Everyday you sit up here is wasted time."

"You're right" said Samantha thoughtfully.

Sig smiled in self satisfaction, this conversation was going just the way he hoped. He wouldn't have to worry about Edgar if Samantha chose to leave.

"Well I should go, sorry to interrupt your bath" said Sig.

"Yes, well just try not to make a habit of it" said Samantha waving her hand dismissively.

Sig left the hotel room after opening the closet to double check Edgar wasn't hiding in it. Once the door closed Samantha eased herself out of the bathtub and got dressed. She had a man to see about a job.

Later that afternoon she headed to the Northwestern with a spring in her step and a twinkle in her eye. As she approached the dock she saw the guys loading on boxes of frozen bait. She stood in a shadow and watched as Edgar barked out orders to the guys on deck. She wondered if he'd gotten a stern talking to from Sig or if he'd managed to avoid the confrontation. Moving from her spot she walked towards the deck of the boat. Jake noticed her first and waved tentatively. His movement caught Norman's eye who silently regarded her, his poker face giving her no hint of the mood on deck.

"Hi guys" she said.

"Hi Antha, are you here to help?" asked Matt.

"It looks like you have everything well in hand" said Samantha.

"Yes, well you've missed all the back breaking labor we've been forced to do" said Nick.

"Oh really? On a Sunday? That seems rather sacrilegious" commented Samantha.

"The devil himself couldn't work us harder than we worked today" said Matt.

Edgar hopped up onto the dock and gave Samantha a brief peck on the cheek. His eyes traveled over her body and when they returned to her face he had an odd look of longing.

"What's up?" asked Samantha quietly.

"Psycho Sig is on the rampage again" said Edgar.

"Sorry, I feel like this is probably partly my fault" said Samantha.

"It's not, he's just mad. I'll tell you all about it later" said Edgar.

"Ok. I have some news to tell you too" said Samantha.

"Oh really? Tell me now" said Edgar.

Before Samantha could explain Sig appeared on deck his ire coming off of him in waves.

"What is she doing here?" asked Sig angrily.

Edgar started to answer but Samantha stepped in front of him and addressed Sig.

"I just came to pick up the tapes from Eric" said Samantha simply.

"Why?" countered Sig.

"Because after our enlightening discussion this morning about me finding a job I got one" said Samantha.

"Doing what? Being someone's gofer? I would think you'd be better than that" said Sig snidely.

"Well I'll collect my own tapes, that way I can get any notes the guys have" said Samantha.

"What exactly are you doing?" asked Sig suspiciously.

"I"m going to pre-edit the tapes before they get sent back to LA" said Samantha. "It's exactly like my old job, only I can do it while I'm up here."

"I thought you were fired" said Sig.

"Yes, well when I went in to speak to someone about any open positions they seemed rather surprised at my abrupt firing and immediately hired me back" said Samantha proudly.

Edgar had turned to face Samantha his mouth opened slightly in shock. He'd expected her to leave when they went back out to fish, but the prospect of having her waiting for him on the dock was thrilling.

"Are you going to celebrate your new job by taking us all out to dinner?" asked Matt.

"As tempting as that is, I already have plans for tonight" said Samantha. "And it only involves one crew member."

"He's busy" said Sig.

Samantha turned to look at Sig confusion written on her face.

"What are you going with Eric?" asked Samantha.

"Nothing" said Sig.

"So why can't I see him tonight?" asked Samantha.

Sig realized what she'd said and muttered something about the impossibility of women before walking back inside. Samantha turned towards Edgar giving him a quick hug.

"I hope to see you later, if you can escape your jailer" said Samantha.

"I'll definitely see you later" whispered Edgar.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they motivated me to get this next chapter out. Again there are adult situations ahead, please beware.

Samantha and Eric sat on the floor of her hotel room scattered tapes littered the floor. She was furiously scribbling on a notepad as she and Eric stared at the tape playing on the laptop. When the tape ended Eric popped the disc out of the computer and stuck a label on it before placing it at the top of the stack.

"Well I think that's all of them" said Eric.

"That was a marathon" said Samantha. "Are you ready for some dinner?"

"Yeah, I'm starving" said Eric.

"Lets order room service" suggested Samantha.

Once the food arrived Eric and Samantha fell onto the food with ravenous hunger.

"So what's the deal with you and Edgar?" asked Eric around a bite of food.

"We like each other and we are getting to know each other on a more personal level" answered Samantha.

"Personal level?" said Eric. "Is that what you told Sig this morning?"

"Nope, he didn't even ask about Edgar, just suggested I find a job" said Samantha. "What did Sig say to Edgar?"

"He didn't get a chance to say anything. By the time he got back to the boat Edgar and the rest of the guys were in full maintenance mode. I've never seen so much repair work go on during the season" explained Eric.

"Really?" said Samantha clearly surprised.

"Yep, the only time I saw Sig out on deck was when you showed up" said Eric.

"I'll have to ask Edgar about it later" said Samantha.

"Is he coming over here tonight?" asked Eric in shock.

"That was the plan, if he can get away" said Samantha.

Eric gave her a look that clearly said it was a bad idea.

"The part comes in tomorrow and they will probably leave tomorrow. It's our last chance to be together before he heads out" said Samantha imploringly.

"I'll head back and try to create a diversion or something" said Eric.

Samantha's eyes lit up and she moved to give him a hug.

"I'm not promising anything" said Eric returning the embrace. "And make sure he's back on the boat before Sig wakes up."

"Roger" said Samantha with a smile.

Eric just shook his head, gathered his gear and headed back to the boat.

Samantha was surfing the internet when there was a quiet knock at the door. It was close to 10 at night and she'd all but given up on Edgar coming to visit. She padded out of bed and gazed through the peep hole confirming who was knocking. She opened the door and Edgar pushed his way into the room. He quickly turned off the light and pulled Samantha into the bathroom. She opened her mouth to ask a question but Edgar responded by clapping his hand over it. Samantha's eyes widened in shock and she nodded. A few seconds later they heard the distinct sound of the door opening and muffled voices.

"Sig, it's dark. I think Eric said something about her meeting with one of the producers" said Norman.

"Go inside and check" said Sig.

"It's not right" said Norman.

"If you won't I will" said Sig.

"Fine, I'll go" said Norman.

Norman flipped the light switch on and Edgar pulled Samantha tighter to him wedging both of them behind the bathroom door.

"She's not here" said Norman.

"Did you check the bathroom?" asked Sig.

Both Samantha and Edgar held their collective breaths waiting anxiously for Norman's answer.

"Yes, lets go. The beer is not going to buy itself" said Norman grumpily.

Edgar and Samantha breathed a sigh of relief as the door clicked shut, they waited a few more minutes before they finally emerged from the bathroom.

"What the hell was that about?" asked Samantha.

"I snuck out" said Edgar.

"Not very sneakily" said Samantha.

"As sneaky as I could get, you try sneaking off a boat where every move makes a noise" said Edgar.

"Are you not allowed to see me or something?" asked Samantha.

"Well I'm just avoiding the lecture from Sig about being late this morning" said Edgar.

Samantha looked pensive for a moment then shrugged. Edgar looped his hands around her waist pulling her flush to his body. His lips found the nape of her neck lavishing it with feather light kisses. His hands tugged at the hem of her t-shirt and quickly pulled it over her head. Samantha turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around him.

"I wanted to have something special for you tonight but all I can give you is me" said Edgar.

"That's all I want" said Samantha in response.

Their hands roamed over each other's bodies pulling clothes off and caressing skin. Edgar quietly settled Samantha down on the bed before laying down next to her. Their lips locked in a passionate kiss as Samantha maneuvered herself so Edgar could sip inside her. The sex was different this time, more intense, each caress or thrust conveying a message to one another. As they reached orgasm together they both gasped at the amazing feeling they shared.

"I love you" whispered Edgar as he collapsed on top of Samantha.

"I love you too" whispered Samantha in response.

Neither Samantha or Edgar mentioned anything else about what they'd said. They both snuggled together and quickly fell into sleep.

A few hours later the alarm on Edgar's phone went off and Samantha stretched over to grab it. It was 5 am and Edgar was already starting to stir. He grabbed the phone away from her and set it back on the nightstand. He gave her a kiss before mounting her, entering her in a single thrust. The sex was quick and passionate, both a goodbye and a promise of things to come. Later Edgar pulled himself out of bed and hopped into the shower. Samantha joined him and helped him to shower quickly. Edgar dried off and kissed Samantha soundly before saying goodbye. As he walked back towards the dock he felt something in his pocket, pulling out the small piece of paper he smiled as he opened it realizing it was a letter from Samantha. As he read the letter he wondered about the new direction his life seemed to be taking. He hopped on deck and quickly snuck back into his bunk. Norman stirred when Edgar came in and cracked his eyes open.

"You made it" said Norman sleepily.

"Yeah, thanks for taking the heat off last night" said Edgar.

"You owe me" said Norman.

Edgar chuckled then closed his eyes, he was unable to keep the smile off his face. Norman noted the smile and just shook his head before turning over and going back to sleep. Matt woke Edgar up a few hours later informing him the mechanic had arrived with the part. The repair was done in a matter of hours and Sig announced to the crew they were going to leave in less than an hour. Edgar called Samantha and said his goodbyes over the phone, as much as he wanted to see her he decided it wasn't a good idea to bait Sig with an in person visit. With goodbyes said the boat pulled slowly out of the harbor.

The trip was fairly uneventful the fishing was dialed in and the Northwestern machine was churning through pots in their standard turn and burn mentality. Every time Edgar got to lay down he pulled out the letter from Samantha and reread it. Sig happily watched the tanks fill up and the crew running as usual. He hoped by the time the boat got back to Dutch, Edgar's infatuation with Samantha would have passed. The boat was plugged in less than a week and as the boat unloaded in Akutan Edgar slipped off to make a quick called to Samantha.

"Hey baby" he said as she picked up the phone.

"Hi Edgar, how's the trip going" asked a sleepy Samantha.

"Good, we stuffed the boat and probably have one more run left and then we'll be done" said Edgar happily.

"That's great. The beds too big without you" said Samantha.

"I'll happily keep you company for as long as you'll have me once I get back" said Edgar.

"I look forward to it" said Samantha.

"I gotta go, someone is probably wondering where I am" said Edgar.

"Ok, stay safe out there" said Samantha.

"You too love" said Edgar.

"I love you" said Samantha her voice small and quiet.

"I love you too" said Edgar.

Edgar hung up the phone and turned around, coming face to face with Nick.

"Did you just say what I think you just said?" asked Nick.

"You didn't hear anything" said Edgar quickly.

"Oh, but I think I did" said Nick. "Congratulations."

"Thanks" said Edgar sheepishly. "Please don't tell anyone."

"Your secret is safe with me" said Nick.

"What are you doing here?" asked Edgar.

"Calling my wife" said Nick.

"Well, tell her I say hi" said Edgar.

The offload was finished in 12 hours, the boat went to refuel and headed back to the fishing grounds. The grind lasted another 6 days and as the crew stacked the last of their gear on deck everyone was thinking of home.

Sig was carefully calculating the amount of crab in the hold when Edgar appeared in the wheelhouse.

"What's up?" asked Sig.

"Just wondering if you could use a break, you've haunted this wheelhouse since we came back out" said Edgar.

"Yeah, I'm just finishing the numbers, so give me a minute" said Sig.

Edgar shrugged and lit a cigarette. He waited patiently for Sig to finish his paperwork and then took the chair. Sig mumbled a goodnight and left Edgar to drive the boat into the offload. After a few hours Edgar started to yawn. In order to keep himself awake he began a list of things he wanted to do with Samantha during his time off. Eric wandered into the wheelhouse and noticed Edgar furiously writing on a piece of paper.

"Hey Edgar, what's up?" asked Eric.

"Nothing, just making a to do list" said Edgar.

"Sounds like fun. Do you want to do a quick interview about the season?" asked Eric.

"Sure" said Edgar.

Edgar did the interview talking about the lower quality of meals since Samantha left the boat, how the level of beauty on the boat had dropped since she was no longer here.

"Edgar, do you think you can maybe say a few sentences without mentioning Antha" said Eric.

Edgar glared at him and tried again. Eric finally gave up muttering something about idiots in love as he walked down to ask the other guys about the season.

Samantha shivered slightly as she waited at the dock for the Northwestern to arrive. Whether she was shivering from excitement or the cold was anyones guess. Eric had called to give her the heads up that the boat was leaving Akutan and heading back to Dutch. She'd spent the weeks the boat was gone working. Without Edgar to distract her she'd managed to edit and transfer a fair amount of tapes. Paul had asked her if she wanted to stay on until the outpost editing was finished but she declined. She needed to get back home and she secretly hoped Edgar would be wiling to go with her, if only for a visit. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder and in this case Samantha's heart was practically bursting out of her chest waiting for Edgar. She was stirred from her musings by the sound of a boat approaching the dock. It was clear even in the inky darkness that it was the Northwestern. All the guys were out on deck waiting to tie the boat off.

"Hey Antha, are you going to catch the line for us?" asked Matt.

"Sure, just don't aim for the face" replied Samantha.

"Fine, but don't let it fall in the water" quipped Matt.

He threw the heavy line and Samantha managed to catch it and string it over the cleat on the dock. When the other lines were thrown she secured them as well. Edgar was the first one off the boat. Without hesitation he picked up Samantha, twirling her around and giving her a big kiss. Everyone on deck cheered. But as the deck was cheering the person in the wheelhouse was stewing. Sig wanted to go out and yell at Edgar to get back on the boat and finish securing everything, but everything had already been done. In fact everyone's bags were packed and ready to go back to their homes. Sig had made all the flight arrangements already, every crew member was scheduled to fly out of Dutch to Seattle in 10 hours. By the time Sig got down to the deck Edgar and Samantha had disappeared. Sig had a meeting with Eric to go over how the shooting went for Red crab. It was a tradition, Sig got to get everything off his chest about what he did and didn't like about the shooting on his boat and Eric got a beer on Sig's tab. For Sig it was a win win.

Edgar sat on the bed as Samantha booked herself a ticket to Seattle. He'd taken her against the hotel room door the moment they closed it. He and Samantha had redressed and Edgar had even helped her pack up some of her clothes until Samantha realized he wasn't folding them first.

"All done" announced Samantha shutting her laptop.

"That was fast, I wonder why it takes Sig so long to do that for us" said Edgar.

"Because he doesn't have the internet out on the boat" said Samantha.

"So what are your plans for the next few months?" asked Edgar.

"I want to go back to LA to check on my house, I want to get a pedicure, I need to get my hair colored back to a normal color and I want to spend almost every waking moment with you" said Samantha jumping onto the bed. "What about you?"

"I made a list" said Edgar.

"How very organized of you" said Samantha.

"Well I had some spare time on the boat" said Edgar.

"Can I see the list?" asked Samantha.

"Sure" replied Edgar.

He dug the crumpled piece of paper out of the pocket of his jeans and handed it to Samantha. She looked down the list her smile growing as she read. Her eyes widened in shock as she read the last item.

"Wow, it's a very thorough list" said Samantha handing it back to him.

"Do you agree to all the activities?" asked Edgar.

"All except for the last one, which I may agree to but it needs to be asked out loud" said Samantha.

Edgar smile broadened and he nodded sagely. They spent the rest of the time before heading to the airport making plans for their vacation. Samantha dropped her finished edits off at production headquarters and collected her check. She smiled at the amount, she'd become a consultant and therefore her salary had increased dramatically. With financial freedom assured for another few months Samantha walked into the airport with Edgar.

Sig was relieved to see Edgar arriving at the airport, his biggest fear was he would decide to stay behind with Samantha. He was less than thrilled to see Samantha. He had been assured by Eric that she had plenty of work to keep her occupied up here in Dutch. A few of the other boats hadn't arrived in port and the post production team was still waiting for their tapes.

"Hi Sig" said Samantha.

"Hi Antha, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Going home" replied Samantha.

Edgar walked over to sit with Matt hoping that by giving Samantha and Sig a little time to talk so whatever was going on between them could be settled.

"That's nice, you must miss home" said Sig noncommittally.

"I do, I'm sure all my plants are dead" said Samantha.

She sat down on the seat next to Sig and looked out the window at the harsh Alaskan scenery. Sig watched her out of the corner of his eye waiting for her to say something. When it became clear she wasn't going to talk he relaxed a little. Their flight was called and Samantha walked onto the plane taking a seat next to Edgar.

The holidays passed in a flurry of activity. Edgar and Samantha spent most of it together. They split time between Samantha's house in LA and Edgar's in Washington. They worked their way through Edgar's list until they only had one thing left. On Christmas Eve Edgar asked Samantha to marry him, presenting her with a ring in front of a roaring fire in his home. She immediately said yes and pounced on Edgar showing him just how much she loved him. The holidays ended and Edgar faced the mounting reality that he was going to have to leave to go back to work. Samantha could sense his tension and did her best to keep him distracted. A few nights before he was scheduled to fly back to Dutch he woke Samantha up in the middle of the night with an idea.

"How would you like to get married on the boat?" asked Edgar.

"Right now? Because it's still parked up in Alaska" mumbled Samantha sleepily.

"No, up in Dutch before the season starts. Sig can do it for us" said Edgar excitedly.

"If that's what you want to do then it's fine with me" said Samantha. "Do I have to wear a wedding dress? Because I don't have one and you leave in less than 2 days."

"You can wear whatever you want" said Edgar.

"Jeans and a sweater it is" said Samantha closing her eyes.

Edgar settled back into sleep, he slept soundly, mentally crossing off one more item on his list.

Samantha sat on the deck of the Northwestern between Nick and Matt watching Edgar nervously pace the deck. She was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a white sweater. Her hair had returned to it's standard light brown hair with golden highlights and her finger nails were painted a pale blue.

"You look pretty" said Matt.

"Thanks" replied Samantha distractedly.

"But that doesn't explain why you're here" continued Matt.

"You're right it doesn't, but I appreciate the compliment" said Samantha.

"Are you going to tell us why you are here?" asked Matt.

"Not right now" answered Samantha.

Sig pulled up in the truck and hoped out. He had made about halfway to the boat when he stopped. His eyes narrowed at the vision in white sitting on his sorting table. Edgar saw him and waved. Sig took a deep breath and jumped onto the deck.

"Sig, I have something important to ask you" said Edgar anxiously.

"Ok, ask" replied Sig.

"I want you to marry us" said Edgar excitedly.

Sig stood stock still his eyes darted from Edgar to Samantha who'd moved closer. He looked down at Samantha's left hand and noticed the ring.

"This has gone far enough" said Sig. "Edgar, you need to get your priorities in order. No, I will not marry you. You barely know each other."

Edgar moved to interrupt but Sig cut him off before he could say anything.

"No, you don't get to talk. This is my boat, my rules and you've completely ignored them. This boat is about family and this girl came here under false pretenses and completely bewitched you with her lies" continued Sig. "If you want to know what kind of a girl she really is, you should know that she slept with me first and when I wouldn't give her what she wanted then she moved on to you."

Samantha's mouth dropped open at this statement and Edgar turned to look at her surprise written all over his face.

"Is this true?" asked Edgar.

"You're kidding right?" said Samantha. "We were all on that boat together, when would I have slept with him?"

"Don't lie, you slept in my bed multiple times" said Sig menacingly. "It's your word against mine and I have nothing to gain by lying."

Edgar took a step away from Samantha. When she looked into his face she could see that he'd already chosen who to believe and it wasn't her. Samantha carefully removed the ring Edgar had given to her.

"Since he'd rather marry you" she said placing the ring in Sig's hand.

Samantha climbed onto the dock her head held high and walked away. Everyone left on deck was shocked, no one more than Edgar.

"I'm glad you made the right choice" said Sig. "Family first, always."

Sig clapped Edgar on the shoulder and steered him inside.

"What just happened?" asked Matt.

"I can't believe he just let her go" mused Nick.

"This is fucked up" said Jake.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: A quick update because I hate cliff hangers.

The attitude aboard the Northwestern was stoic at best. Edgar did his job although he barely spoke to the cameras or anyone else. Sig did his best to keep Edgar close, constantly telling him he made the right decision regarding Samantha. Everyone else on the boat seemed to be walking around in a state of shock, they mechanically went through the process of getting the boat ready to start Opies. There were whispers while they loaded pots about why Sig said what he did. Of course no one said anything to Edgar who went on with his job like a robot. A few days later the boat was ready to start the season and left port without any celebration. As they drove out to the northern fishing grounds Nick sat down next to Edgar in the galley while everyone else was in bed.

"Hey man, how are you doing?" asked Nick.

"I'm fine" said Edgar.

"No one else is around, if you want to get something off your chest you can without anyone else knowing. Your secrets are always safe with me" said Nick.

Edgar turned and looked at Nick, his eyes were tired and he just shook his head.

"Well if you need to talk, let me know" said Nick.

"I just don't understand why she would do that" said Edgar suddenly.

"Even if she did, it was before you two even got together" said Nick.

Edgar's head dropped to the table with a thunk and Nick took this as a sign he wanted to be alone. Getting up from the table Nick laid a comforting hand on Edgar's shoulder before heading back to his stateroom. Edgar sat at the table until they got to the grounds, his head was dented slightly from the extended period of time it spent mashed against the table.

The first pot of the season was about to go over the side and everyone on deck was waiting for Edgar to bite the head off the frozen herring for good luck. Edgar however was completely unaware of why everyone was waiting. He turned and stared at Jake who seemed to be waiting anxiously for something.

"What do you want Junior?" asked Edgar wearily.

"Are you going to bite the fish?" asked Jake.

"No, why don't you do it. I'm not in the mood" said Edgar.

"Um, ok" answered Jake.

He took the proffered fish from Matt and gingerly bit off the head before promptly vomiting all over the deck.

"To a successful season" said Matt into the camera.

The camera turned to get a reaction shot from Edgar and his response was just a shrug. Edgar worked like a zombie giving no response to questions from the guys on deck or the ones with the cameras. When he wasn't working he slept or sat staring blankly at the galley table. It was clear to everyone on the boat that Edgar was not in a good head space.

The season went on and Edgar stayed the same, any attempts to get him to talk were rebuffed and for the most part he spent time alone away from everyone. Even Sig was starting to get worried about his youngest brother. Then one day he turned a corner. Like night and day the old Edgar returned and he began talking and joking with everyone just like he use to. No one mentioned Samantha by name or description for fear of a backslide. Opilio season was in the books by mid March and the crew gratefully returned home to Seattle. The moment the boat hit the dock the guys went their separate ways.

Sig got a call from Matt a month later telling him he was worried about Edgar. When Sig pressed him for specifics Matt explained that Edgar had completely gone off the deep end. He was carousing all night, drinking and he now had a girlfriend living with him. Sig agreed to visit him and check it out. Which is how Sig ended up ringing Edgar's doorbell on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Sig was taken aback at Edgar's disheveled appearance when he answered the door. There was a weeks worth of beard growing on him and he looked as if he'd been wearing the same clothes for a month.

"Hey Sig" said Edgar. "Thanks for stopping by."

Edgar made to close the door but Sig deftly pushed it open and walked inside.

"How've you been?" asked Sig surveying the messy house.

"Fine" answered Edgar.

Sig followed Edgar into the den where a scantily clad woman was laying on the couch.

"Oh hi" she said not bothering to cover up.

"Hi, I'm Sig. And you are?"

"I'm Starla" answered the girl.

"Nice to meet you" said Sig with a roll of his eyes.

He grabbed Edgar by the sleeve and dragged him into the kitchen.

"Where the hell did you meet her?" asked Sig.

"At one of those cool bars Matt use to go to" said Edgar. "She's a big fan of the show."

"She seems like a real winner" said Sig sarcastically.

"I would think you'd love her, she's everything Antha wasn't" said Edgar coldly.

"Edgar, you could do so much better" said Sig.

"I didn't want to do any better than Antha, she's all I ever wanted. But you stole that from me" spat Edgar angrily.

"I thought you were over her. That you got over her during Opies" said Sig.

"Whatever, you don't care" said Edgar.

"Why would you say that?" asked Sig.

"Because you took away my one chance at happiness because you were jealous" said Edgar.

Sig stared into Edgar's eyes and saw that he knew it had been a lie.

"Then why did you let her go?" asked Sig.

"Because we always chose family first. I realized too late that she was going to become my family" said Edgar. "I chose wrong."

With that parting statement Edgar walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Starla. She draped herself over him like a blanket before smiling seductively at Sig.

"We'll talk later, when you aren't so busy" said Sig in disgust.

As he walked out of the house he felt he needed to take a shower and knew he had a trip to make.

Samantha sat in her doctors office waiting patiently for her turn. She'd had some sort of stomach bug off and on for a while and was anxious to find out what was wrong with her. She'd been throwing up almost constantly and at first she thought it was stress from the breakup with Edgar but when it just kept going she figured it must be something more. After she'd gotten home from Dutch Harbor she'd gone into protective mode, doing nothing more than drowning her sorrows in ice cream and working. She'd taken a few freelance editing jobs for smaller studios and had carved out a good niche for herself. Her work was steady and she got to set her own hours. She kept to herself only going out to buy groceries. Her sadness eventually enveloped her like a shroud weighing her down and preventing her from seeing the world around her as anything but grey. Her name was called and she set down the magazine she was reading and followed the nurse back to the room. She changed into the gown and sat down on the examine table to wait for the doctor. The door opened and her doctor waltzed in wearing a rather large grin.

"Hello Samantha, I think we've found the problem" she said cheerily.

"Already? Did you get a crystal ball for Christmas or something?" asked Samantha.

"All we needed was the urine you provided us" said the doctor.

Samantha stared at her doctor thoroughly confused. The doctor took pity on her.

"You're pregnant my dear" she announced.

For a moment Samantha looked like she was going to be ok, then she flopped back onto the table in a dead faint. She came to a minute later as the nurse laid a cool cloth on her forehead.

"Well, I must say that's the most dramatic reaction I've seen to this kind of news" said the doctor.

Samantha could just nod weakly in response. The nursing staff bustled in an ultrasound machine and before Samantha knew it she was looking at a little baby on the screen. Not just a little baby, her baby, specifically her and Edgar's baby.

"Well my dear, the baby is measuring right at 18 weeks, so that would put your due date around the middle of August" explained the doctor. "We will need to get you on some vitamins and of course you should abstain from alcohol. But the baby looks healthy."

Samantha walked out of the office with a script for prenatal vitamins and a few ultrasound pictures of the child growing inside her. She had noticed she was gaining weight but just assumed it was from all the ice cream she was shoveling down. Of course she and Edgar hadn't used protection but she'd never even considered the possibility of getting pregnant. It didn't matter he'd made his choice and had told her plainly that he wanted nothing to do with her. With a shake of her head she got into the car and drove home.

Sig nervously stood in front of what he hoped was Samantha's house. He'd practically begged Eric for her address and he wasn't completely sure he'd given him the right one. The house was in a seemingly expensive neighborhood and it looked like Snow White could live in it. A woman, walking her sweater wearing dog, eyed Sig suspiciously as she passed by which was enough to get Sig to walk towards the front door. He knocked lightly and half prayed that Samantha wasn't home. His prayers weren't answered and the door swung open revealing a disheveled Samantha in a pair of pajama pants and a wrap around sweater.

"Hi" said Sig uncomfortably.

"Well this is unexpected" was all Samantha could say.

She stepped aside and beckoned Sig to enter. Sig walked into the marbled foyer and stopped. Samantha passed him leading him into the kitchen. As they walked Sig noticed despite Samantha's appearance the house was impeccably clean. Once in the kitchen Samantha went back to the sandwich she was making and Sig slipped onto one of the kitchen stools.

"So what are you doing here?" asked Samantha her voice sounding rough with disuse.

"I came to talk to you, see how you were doing and talk to you about what happened" said Sig.

"I'm not interested" said Samantha.

She put the finishing touches on her sandwich and placed 2 huge dill pickles on the side of the plate before grabbing a glass of milk and sliding into a chair. Sig watched with fascination as Samantha devoured the entire sandwich and polished off the milk in a matter of seconds.

"Hungry?" asked Sig.

"All the time" said Samantha.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what I did. It was wrong and I didn't mean to hurt either of you" said Sig.

"Save me your bullshit, you meant to hurt me. You lied point blank in front of your brother in order to paint me in a bad light. I don't know why you did it, what you got out of it but it destroyed what we had" said Samantha her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"I did it because I was jealous" admitted Sig.

"You shouldn't be telling me this, you should tell Edgar" said Samantha. "Because all the apologies in the world aren't going to bring you back into my good graces. You'll have better luck with him."

"I can't even talk to him. He's a mess" said Sig.

"Is he ok?" asked Samantha her voice suddenly full of concern.

"Who knows, he's going out all the time, not taking care of himself or the house and dating some horrible thing. I can't even bring myself to call her a woman" said Sig his voice filled with disgust.

"Well it's his life, although that's never stopped you from butting in before" said Samantha dismissively.

Sig looked pained for a moment before he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Samantha couldn't help but smile at the action, it was so completely Sig.

"I just wanted to tell you in person that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you and that my pride hurt your relationship with Edgar. You are clearly an amazing woman and you and Edgar were clearly in love" said Sig.

"Thank you for the apology. I think you owe one to Edgar too" said Samantha.

Sig sensed that the conversation was over and got up to leave. Samantha stood also sliding out of the chair and landing on the floor. Her hand moved to her stomach for a moment and Sig wondered if she was feeling sick after the way she'd wolfed down her food. Samantha walked Sig to the door and said goodbye. Once Sig had left the house she walked back into the kitchen. She put away the pickle jar in the fridge and wondered if Sig had noticed the ultrasound picture on her fridge. He hadn't said anything but that didn't mean he hadn't seen it.

Sig returned to the hotel he was staying at and quickly called Norman. A few moments later there was a knock at Sig's hotel room door. Sig let Norman into the room and sat back down on the bed.

"Well, what did she say?" asked Norman.

"She thinks I'm an ass and that I should apologize to Edgar" said Sig.

"Well she's right on both accounts. Will she come back and talk to him?" asked Norman.

"No" answered Sig.

"Did you ask her that specifically?" said Norman.

"Yes" replied Sig.

"Did you say 'Samantha, will you come to Washington and talk to Edgar, he's completely off his melon and we are worried about him?'" said Norman.

"No, not that specifically" said Sig. "But when I said he was a mess she almost sounded concerned."

"Well that's a start" said Norman.

"Yeah, I don't think was feeling very good anyway, she ate a sandwich faster than Junior on his best day and when she got up she was holding her stomach" said Sig.

"That's weird" said Norman.

"Why don't you go talk to her. If anything you have to see her house. When she said Jake wouldn't be able to keep her in a lifestyle she was accustomed to she wasn't kidding" said Sig.

"Fine, I'll go see her" said Norman. "But you need to start working on what you are going to say to Edgar."

Sig just nodded and Norman left the room.

Samantha struggled up from the couch the doorbell was ringing and she was practically willing herself to hurry but her body was completely uncooperative. As she walked to the door her only thought was this better be worth it. Throwing open the door her mouth dropped open at the sight of Norman Hansen on her doorstep with a dozen roses. Norman smiled an easy smile and handed her the bouquet.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Sure, since you come bearing gifts" said Samantha.

Norman stepped into the foyer and looked around, the house was more impressive than Sig had described.

"Your house is beautiful" said Norman.

"Thanks, let me get these in some water and I'll give you a tour" said Samantha.

Norman followed her into the kitchen, he watched as Samantha reached up to get a vase off the top shelf, her t-shirt lifting to reveal a round little belly. His suspicions were confirmed when he noticed the picture on the fridge. Samantha filled the vase with water and artfully arranged the flowers.

"Ready for the tour?" asked Samantha.

"Sure" said Norman.

"Well this is the kitchen, all the appliances are state of the art and it's my dream kitchen" said Samantha waving her hand around. "This way to the den."

Samantha showed Norman the downstairs rooms before starting up the stairs. Norman noticed that she went slower and was careful to use the banister to balance.

"This is my bedroom, it has a bathroom with a huge tub and shower" said Samantha with a smile.

They walked down the hall together to a cluster of rooms at the end of the hall.

"This one is the guest room, this one is my office and this one is empty" said Samantha.

"Is that going to be the nursery?" asked Norman.

"Probably" said Samantha.

"Is the baby Edgar's?" asked Norman.

"It doesn't matter, the baby is mine" said Samantha.

Norman turned her around so they were standing face to face. Samantha's eyes were full of tears and one was already rolling down her cheeks.

"He would want to know" said Norman.

"He has a new girlfriend, he doesn't need me ruining his life with an unexpected child" said Samantha.

"Do you still care about him?" asked Norman.

"Yes" said Samantha and after a moment she quietly whispered "I love him."

Norman gathered her into a tight embrace allowing her to cry on his shoulder. Samantha's body was wracked with sobs and Norman moved her down the hall to her room and helped her to lay down. After she'd cried herself out he went downstairs to get her a glass of water. As he opened the fridge he pulled one of the ultrasound pictures down and studied it. This picture had the baby in profile with an arrow pointing to it's legs and typed above it were the words I'm a boy. Norman took both the glass of water and the picture up to Samantha's room. Samantha sat up and took a small sip of water before laying back down.

"Can I take this picture?" asked Norman.

"Why do you want it?" asked Samantha tiredly.

"I want to show Edgar" said Norman simply.

"I'd really rather you not" said Samantha.

"Then can I take another one of the pictures" said Norman.

"I meant I'd rather you not show Edgar at all" said Samantha. "I'm all set to be his parent, I don't want Edgar to feel like he owes me anything."

"I'll make sure to tell him that" said Norman. "I just want him to know he has a child. He deserves to know."

Samantha looked away, she was torn between the idea of Edgar rushing to her begging for them to be a family and him flat out rejecting her.

"Fine, you can take it" said Samantha.

"When are you due?" asked Norman.

"The middle of August" said Samantha.

"We'll be about to start cod" said Norman more to himself than Samantha.

"What?" asked Samantha.

"Nothing, just talking to myself" said Norman.

"I'm going to rest, all the crying makes me tired" said Samantha.

"Do you mind if I call Sig, he's probably wondering where I am" said Norman.

"That's fine" said Samantha around a yawn.

Norman went downstairs and picked up the phone, he steeled himself for what he was sure would be quite an outburst from Sig.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, I love getting each and every one of them.

Norman and Sig sat next to each other on the flight back to Seattle. Norman's ear was still ringing from Sig yelling into the phone when he'd told him about Samantha's pregnancy. The conversation had pretty much gone south from there, Sig had done a lot of swearing, mumbling and basically stopped making sense shortly after heard the news. Now that they were on the airplane he seemed to be in a slightly better mindset.

"Are you sure you want to tell Edgar?" asked Sig.

"Yes. He has a right to know and it may help him to realize he has responsibilities and other people to care for besides himself" said Norman.

"I think it's going to freak him out and he's going to go completely crazy" said Sig.

"I disagree" said Norman.

"Yeah well you haven't seen him. Wait to you see his new girlfriend and the state of his house" said Sig. "He's a mess."

"Sig, we've been home for 3 months and you've seen him once. Who knows maybe he's already starting to straighten up his act" said Norman.

"I'll believe it when I see it" said Sig doubtfully.

Norman and Sig sat in companionable silence for the rest of the flight. They signed a few autographs as they got off the plane and headed to Norman's house to regroup.

Sig and Norman walked up to Edgar's house, his always groomed lawn was completely overgrown. Sig knocked at the door and stepped back. After a few minutes without an answer Norman stepped forward and turned the handle, he was surprised that the door was unlocked. The brothers walked inside the house, it was even more filthy than when Sig had visited before. The first person they noticed was Matt, sitting on the couch holding a beer. Sig was aghast, Matt hadn't picked up a drink in years.

"Don't worry, I haven't fallen off the wagon or anything. Edgar insisted that I have one, I'm just holding it for looks" explained Matt with a grimace.

"Where's Edgar?" asked Norman.

"He and Starla are out back" said Matt.

"I'll go" said Norman.

Sig just nodded and sat down next to Matt. He looked around at the empty beer bottles scattered around the house as well as the pizza boxes and take out containers.

"Edgar isn't cooking?" asked Sig.

"I don't even know if Edgar is eating" said Matt. "I'm here because I'm his friend and I want to make sure he's ok, but he seems like he's going downhill fast."

"Thanks for keeping an eye on him" said Sig.

"It's payback for all the times he did the same for me" said Matt. "You want the beer, I'm not going to drink it."

"Sure" said Sig taking the proffered bottle.

"Why did you say that bullshit about Samantha on the boat?" asked Matt suddenly.

"I don't know, I guess I was jealous" said Sig. "If I could take it back I would. I never wanted Edgar to get hurt. I never expected this."

"It was a really shitty thing to do" continued Matt.

"I know. I already apologized to Antha" said Sig. "She even accepted it, but told me I owed Edgar more of an apology."

"Really? She's a better person than I would have been" said Matt.

"She's better than all of us" said Sig quietly.

"How is she doing?" asked Matt.

"She's fine. I was hoping she would come up and visit Edgar to help snap him out of this self destruction, but she said she's not the problem" said Sig.

"She's right" said Matt simply.

"I know and I hate it when I'm not right" said Sig.

"Well lucky you're the captain so even when you're wrong everyone still tells you you're right" said Matt.

"Thanks Matt" said Sig taking a swig of the beer.

Outside Norman lit a cigarette and exhaled a plumb of smoke. Edgar and Starla were sitting on the edge of the deck arguing. Norman listened to what they were saying trying to judge when it would be safe to interrupt. The ultrasound picture was burning a hole in his pocket. He hoped it would be the magic wand he needed it to be to snap Edgar back to reality.

"Starla, I'm not in the mood" said Edgar.

"You're never in the mood, it's not fair. You seem so virile on the show, I want that Edgar" whined Starla.

"I'm not a character from the show, I'm just me. Take it or leave it" said Edgar tiredly.

"I bet your brother is just like he is on tv" countered Starla.

"Then go fuck him" said Edgar.

"Fine, I will" said Starla.

She got up and flounced into the house pushing past Norman without noticing him. Edgar didn't even look up as she walked away, instead he dropped his head into his hands and sighed dejectedly. Norman decided it was now or never and walked over to take the seat next to Edgar.

"Hi Edgar" he said quietly.

"Oh, hey Norm. I didn't know you were here" said Edgar.

"Yeah, Sig and I just got back from LA" explained Norman.

"Why were you there? Stuff for the show? Sorry if I missed it, I didn't know" said Edgar in a rush.

"No, nothing for the show. We went to see Antha" said Norman.

Edgar turned slowly his eyes searching Norman's face for malice. When he found nothing but concern he turned back to face the ground.

"How's she doing?" asked Edgar.

"She's different" said Norman.

"She isn't sick or anything is she?" asked Edgar turning to face Norman.

Norman's eyes dropped to the side as he wondered how best to tell Edgar about the baby. Edgar took this as a sign that Samantha was sick.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked in a panic.

"Nothing, don't freak out. She's pregnant" said Norman gripping Edgar's shaking shoulders.

"Pregnant?" said Edgar in disbelief. "Well I guess Sig was right, she certainly didn't waste any time moving on."

"The baby is yours" said Norman in annoyance.

Edgar felt as if his whole world just tilted on its axis. The reality of how he'd spent the months since coming home from fishing hit him like a ton of bricks. His eyes surveyed his yard and for the first time he noticed the thousands of cigarette butts littering the ground, the beer bottles haphazardly placed on the deck.

"I have a picture if you want to see" said Norman.

Edgar turned back to Norman and looked down at the small paper in his hand.

"I don't deserve to see it" said Edgar. "Does Antha want me to see it?"

"No" said Norman with a sigh. "She didn't want to cause problems for you with your new girlfriend."

"She said that?" asked Edgar.

"Yes, she didn't want to add any burdens to you" said Norman.

"She thinks it would be a burden" said Edgar quietly.

"For you. She seems really excited. I got to see where the nursery is going to be" said Norman.

"You went to her house?" asked Edgar.

"Yes, Sig went to apologize" explained Norman.

"He apologized to her?" said Edgar in disbelief.

"Yes, but you should ask him for all the details. He's inside" said Norman.

"I need a minute" said Edgar.

"No problem" said Norman.

He stood up and clapped Edgar on the shoulder before heading back inside. As he opened the door he looked back and found Edgar starting to throw the beer bottles into a trash bag.

Sig and Matt turned at the sound of the screen door opening. They noticed Norman walking inside and were both disappointed to see he was alone. Starla was draped over Sig's shoulder whispering into his ear. Every time she did Sig would move a little closer to Matt in a vain attempt to put a little space between them.

"Sig, can I talk to you in the kitchen?" asked Norman.

"Sure" said Sig disentangling himself from Starla's grip.

"Matt, would you mind throwing away some of the trash? Edgar's starting to clean up outside and he could probably use the help" said Norman.

"Roger" said Matt.

Norman and Sig walked into the kitchen.

"What did he say?" asked Sig anxiously.

"He was surprised. At first he assumed it wasn't his" said Norman. "Mentioned something about you being right about her being a slut."

Sig's face burned with embarrassment.

"But after I explained it was his then he kind of just went quiet" said Norman.

"Did he look at the picture?" asked Sig.

"Not yet, he said he didn't deserve to" said Norman.

"What's he doing now?" asked Sig.

"Cleaning up the backyard" said Norman. "I think it would be nice to help him out, this place is a shit hole."

"What about Starla?" asked Sig.

"That is his problem" said Norman. "Although it sounds like she could be your problem next if you're not careful."

"Great, just what I need" said Sig.

Sig and Norman started to clean up the kitchen, throwing the old food into a trash bag and putting the few dishes they found in the dishwasher. It became clear to them that Edgar had probably not eaten any real food since he'd arrived home, the fridge was full of beer and wine coolers but nothing edible. They finished cleaning the kitchen and returned to the living room. Norman and Sig had both grabbed a beer from the fridge before heading in.

"Don't you two have any manners" said Starla from the couch. "It's customary to get a lady a drink."

"We know the rules, we just don't see any ladies" quipped Norman.

Starla's eyes narrowed and she was about to say something when Edgar and Matt walked in from outside.

"Edgar, your friend is being rude" said Starla with a pout.

"The only friend here is Matt, the other two are my brothers" said Edgar. "Come with me, we need to talk."

Edgar and Starla were gone for a few minutes before they reappeared. Edgar looked relieved while Starla looked a little shell shocked. Edgar walked her to the door and gave her a brief hug goodbye. Starla walked shakily to her car, got in and drove away. Edgar walked back into the living room surveying the clean up efforts.

"Thanks for helping me clean up" said Edgar. "I'm going to take a shower and change, don't go anywhere. I'm sure you all have some things to say."

Samantha shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she couldn't believe that Sig had asked her to fly up to Seattle when she was pregnant. She replayed the phone conversation in her head again trying to pin point the exact moment she'd completely lost her mind and agreed to visit. She shifted again and the flight attendant appeared at her side.

"Are you doing ok?" she asked.

"Yes, just a little uncomfortable" answered Samantha.

"Let me get you something that may help" said the flight attendant.

She returned in a moment with a bottle of water and a few pillows. The woman wedged a couple of pillows behind Samantha's back and put another under her knees before handing her the bottle of water.

"Make sure you stay hydrated" she said helpfully.

"Thank you" said Samantha as she took a deep swallow of water.

"So when are you due?" asked the flight attendant.

"The middle of August" said Samantha.

"That's great, do you know what you are having?" asked the flight attendant.

"A boy" said Samantha.

"I'm sure you and your husband are really excited" she said.

"Yes" replied Samantha.

A call button rang somewhere behind Samantha and the flight attendant got up to check it out. Samantha let out a sigh of relief that the round of 20 questions was over. She found it was just easier to lie about being married than try to explain her situation to some total stranger. The only people who knew what was really going on were the Hansen brothers and her family. She'd basically cut ties with her friends and acquaintances while she was depressed. She fought back another sigh, not wanting another visit from the questioning flight attendant. As if giving her reassurance that everything was fine the baby kicked. She placed her hand over her belly and closed her eyes reveling in the life growing inside her. The plane touched down in Seattle and Samantha happily let every single person off the plane before she finally got up from her seat. Now that she was just moments away from seeing Sig she found herself horribly nervous. She stood up and straightened her dress before grabbing her small carryon bag and heading to the exit doors. Before she reached them the flight attendant came up to her holding a small set of wings.

"For the little aviator" she said.

"Thank you" said Samantha tears welling in her eyes.

As she walked down the ramp to baggage claim she clutched the wings in her hand while her heart hammered in her chest.

All 3 Hansen brothers were sitting in the SUV waiting for Samantha's plane to arrive. They were in the middle of heated argument about who was going in to meet her. They'd been discussing it since they left Edgar's house an hour ago.

"I think I should go because I was the one who called and invited her" said Sig.

"Yes, but she's probably still mad at you" replied Norman. "I think Edgar should go since he hasn't seen her in a while and she's carrying his baby."

"She's probably definitely still mad at him" interjected Sig.

"Norman just go, she likes you. You've done nothing to upset or offend her which puts you ahead of both of us" said Edgar.

"Why don't we all go in together" suggested Norman.

"Because we are very minor celebrities in this place and I don't want to miss her because we are meeting fans. If one of us is there no one will even notice, all three and someone is going to get suspicious" explained Sig.

"Besides Norm, if someone hears you say something they certainly aren't going to recognize your voice" quipped Edgar.

"It's nice to know you are basically back to your normal smart ass self" said Norman.

"Norman, please go in and get the mother of my child" said Edgar.

"I will since you asked so nicely" said Norman.

"Take the flowers" said Sig.

"No, we can give them to her in the car. She's going to be carrying a bunch of stuff" said Norman.

"Just get going, I don't want her to have to wait for us" said Edgar.

Norman got out of the car and walked slowly towards baggage claim. He was secretly relieved that he was going in to get Samantha. He actually hoped to talk to her a little before she saw his brothers. He wanted her to be prepared for their idiocy and make sure she would have a good time. Sig had a fourth of July party every year, this year they were going to have it on the boat.

Samantha slowly walked towards the carousel, she'd already stopped at the bathroom, then a gift shop and had run out opportunities to procrastinate. She expected Sig to be waiting for her, anxiously pacing back and forth with a snarl on his face. However, she was pleasantly surprised to see Norman standing slightly off to the side. He noticed her immediately and quickly walked towards her. Stopping a few feet in front of her he smiled, clearly unsure of how to greet her.

"Hi Norman" said Samantha.

"Hi Antha" he replied.

Samantha stepped forward and enveloped him in a gentle hug. Norman returned the hug giving her a few gentle pats on the back. When they separated both were smiling wider.

"I'm kind of glad it's just you" said Samantha as they walked to retrieve her suitcase.

"Let me get it" said Norman.

"Ok, it's the pink one" said Samantha.

Samantha's suitcase came sailing by and Norman had to stifle a groan as he hefted the pink Hello Kitty suitcase off the conveyor belt.

"Please tell me it's the only suitcase you own" said Norman.

"Nope, I picked it because I knew it would drive Sig crazy" said Samantha.

"It certainly will. It's surprisingly light" noted Norman.

"It has to be, I can't lift anything heavy and I had to carry it downstairs" explained Samantha. "I can roll it if you want."

"No, it's fine. Horribly embarrassing but fine" said Norman. "I need to tell you about a few things."

"Oh really? Should I be worried?" asked Samantha.

"Not really. But Edgar and Sig are waiting in the car right now" said Norman.

"Ok" said Samantha. "Is that it? Because I had to assume that I would see both of them at some point."

"And, we're having party on the boat for fourth of July" said Norman.

"Am I invited?" asked Samantha.

"Yes" said Norman.

"Is it formal or something? Do I need a specific type of outfit?" asked Samantha.

"Nope, just a regular party. I just wanted you to know about it. I want you to have a good time with no surprises."

"Thanks, I appreciate you letting me know" said Samantha.

Norman and Samantha walked out of the airport towards the waiting car. Sig saw them first and couldn't help but snicker at Norman. He hoped out of the car to open the trunk, Edgar stayed in the car unsure whether he was wanted. The closer Samantha got to the car the more pregnant she looked. She was wearing a yellow sun dress with a little sweater over her shoulders. The dress showed off her big baby bump and the closer she got the more Edgar wanted to jump out of the car to touch her. Norman handed Sig the suitcase with a wide smile. Finally loosing his battle Edgar jumped out of the car.

"Hi" he said suddenly.

"Hi Edgar, how are you?" asked Samantha.

Edgar couldn't speak he just shrugged a little before taking a small step forward.

"Antha, how are you doing? I must say that you are looking very pregnant. Are you sure you don't have twins in there?" said Sig.

"Sig, I'm going to give you a little life advice. Don't ever ask a pregnant lady if she's having twins, because you are basically just calling her huge, with is something no woman every wants to hear. And with all the hormones swimming around those types of comments could be hazardous to your health" said Samantha her voice like steel.

"You look good, very pregnant" said Sig.

"Sig, you should stop while you still have teeth in your mouth" said Norman.

"Oh whatever, what would you have said" asked Sig.

"Antha, you look absolutely beautiful" said Norman.

"Thank you" said Antha with a soft smile.

"Suck up" muttered Sig.

Samantha's hand moved to her belly and she grimaced slightly.

"What's wrong?" asked Edgar.

"He's hungry" said Samantha.

"Everybody in the car, lets get Antha something to eat" said Edgar.

They piled into the car, Sig and Norman in the front and Samantha and Edgar sitting together in the back. They drove out of the airport in an uneasy silence. Samantha shifted uncomfortably and placed her hand on her tummy in an effort to calm the kicking baby. She usually talked to him to calm him but she was uncomfortable doing it in front of others. Edgar reached out his hand to touch her stomach but stopped. Samantha looked up and smiled.

"Are you ok?" asked Edgar pulling his hand back.

"Yes, he's just kicking" said Samantha.

After a moment she pulled Edgar's hand into hers and set it on the top of her stomach. The baby kicked directly under his hand causing Edgar to jerk his hand back.

"What was that!?" said Edgar.

"The baby, it's pretty crowded in there so he kicks a lot" said Samantha. "Especially when he's hungry."

Edgar's hand returned to her stomach running over it until he felt the kicks again.

"What do you think he's hungry for?" asked Edgar.

"A bacon maple donut from Voodoo donuts" said Samantha firmly.

"Did you hear that Sig?" asked Edgar.

"Roger, first stop Voodoo donuts" said Sig.

"I hope you haven't been craving that the whole time" said Edgar. "Because it would have been quite a drive for you to come up and get one."

"Yeah, well I haven't really had many cravings or if I have I haven't really been in the mood to satisfy them" said Samantha, her voice slightly sad. Edgar took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry about what happened" said Edgar. "I made the wrong choice. I hope you can forgive me."

"I" began Samantha.

"I know and I don't expect you to forgive me anytime soon, I just hope someday you can" interrupted Edgar.

"Well" started Samantha.

"Although I'll understand if you never want to, I did a terrible thing and you deserved and deserve better" said Edgar.

"Stop" said Samantha. "I forgive you, I actually forgave you a long time ago. We went to fast and I think your brother was just worried about you getting hurt. Whether that was true or not was kind of immaterial."

"You can't seriously have forgiven me" said Edgar in disbelief. "I haven't even forgiven myself."

"I have" said Samantha simply.

"Thank you" said Edgar. "You are amazing."

Samantha smiled and closed her eyes, a few tears slipped down her cheeks unchecked and she felt Edgar's roughened fingers swiping them away. When the tears were removed his hand moved back to her belly. In the rearview mirror Sig noticed the tableau, he said a prayer that everything would work out between them.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Sorry for the delay, internet issues. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews.

Samantha had fallen asleep after she'd devoured her donut and milk. She was puffing softly, her head on Edgar's shoulder. Edgar hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she got into the car. Norman turned around in his seat and glanced at Edgar and smiled.

"What?" whispered Edgar.

"You look happier than I've seen you in a long time" said Norman. "Probably since you glued Matt's ass to the toilet seat."

"This is way better than a glued ass" said Edgar.

His hand drifted down and brushed a stray hair out of Samantha's face, she smiled softly at the contact.

"Did you see that?" asked Norman.

"See what?" asked Edgar.

"Her stomach just moved" explained Norman. "The donut bag just moved."

Edgar and Norman stared at Samantha's belly and sure enough the bag moved slightly.

"Maybe he doesn't like having the bag on him" said Norman.

"I wonder if he can kick hard enough to knock it off" said Edgar.

"If he's anything like you I'm sure he can" mumbled Samantha.

"Sorry to wake you" said Edgar.

"You didn't, the soccer player in my stomach did" said Samantha.

Edgar's hand slipped to her stomach and he felt the baby kicking up a storm.

"Does that hurt you?" asked Edgar.

"Sometimes, it depends on where and how hard he's kicking" said Samantha.

Edgar leaned down and placed his head next to her belly.

"Lay off kicking your mom" said Edgar.

"You're just making him kick more" said Samantha.

"How?" asked Edgar.

"Probably your voice. He's really only heard me talking to him and I'm sure my voice sounds different since he hears it more internally" said Samantha with a smile.

"Hey buddy, I can't wait to meet you face to face" said Edgar, his lips pressed against her stomach.

Samantha squirmed slightly.

"What? Did he kick you?" asked Edgar.

"No, you're just tickling me" said Samantha.

Edgar moved his lips down again and whispered conspiratorially to the baby. The baby loved the vibration and was soon kicking exactly where Edgar's mouth was. After one particularly powerful kick Edgar pulled away.

"Definitely a soccer player or perhaps a kick boxer" said Edgar rubbing his mouth.

Later that evening Samantha was in Edgar's kitchen with a stove full of pots. She had stripped off her sweater and taken off her shoes. Edgar was sitting on the counter next to the stove alternately passing Samantha spices and sneaking tastes of the sauce.

"I hope you don't get offended but you are barefoot and pregnant in my kitchen" said Edgar with a smile.

"I know, I should have brought slippers, but I didn't think about it" said Samantha.

"It's a good look for you, very domestic" said Edgar.

Samantha just rolled her eyes and shook her head a little. But the next time Edgar reached out to taste the sauce he got a sharp smack on the knuckles. He turned a hurt look to Samantha who just smiled sweetly at him.

"When are the other guys going to be here?" she asked.

"Pretty soon" said Edgar.

"Like pretty soon I have enough time to take a shower or pretty soon I have enough time to finish making the salad" said Samantha.

"Um, you can take a shower and I can make the salad" said Edgar.

"Sounds good" said Samantha.

Edgar watched her stretch her back as she walked out of the room. In his mind she'd never looked more attractive. He turned back to the stove, stirred the sauces and checked the pasta before starting to make the salad. He heard the shower start and it took all his strength not to join her. He was saved from himself by a knock at the door. Checking the sauces one more time he quickly went to answer the door. The guys all piled into the house carrying gift bags and flowers.

"What's all this?" asked Edgar.

"They're for Antha" said Matt.

"Is she still here?" asked Nick looking around.

"Oh Edgar, what the hell did you do now" said Sig in disgust.

"Nothing, she's still here. She's taking a shower" said Edgar.

"What smells so good?" asked Norman.

"It's chicken marsala" said Edgar.

"You made chicken marsala? I didn't know you had it in you" said Matt.

"Antha made it, I passed her stuff" said Edgar.

"You made the 8 month pregnant mother of your child cook for you?" said Sig in shock.

"She suggested it, I told her we could order take out. But she said I looked like I hadn't had a decent meal in months" said Edgar.

"Well she guessed that one right" said Matt.

"Yes, well if you'll excuse me I need to finish making the salad" said Edgar completely ignoring Matt's comment.

"I have something that needs to go in the freezer" said Jake.

"What is it?" asked Edgar.

"An ice cream cake" said Jake.

Edgar opened the top of the box and looked at the ice cream cake completely decked out with a pale blue baby carriage and pacifier.

"Very cute, but I don't even know if Antha likes ice cream cake" said Edgar.

"Oh she will, she's pregnant" said Jake knowingly.

Before Edgar could quiz Jake about his knowledge of pregnancy he heard the shower shut off and hurried to finish the salad before Samantha came out.

Samantha walked out into Edgar's living room wearing another dress, this one was pale blue with capped sleeves. It gave her the sense of innocence but the unmistakable mark of pregnancy. She was once again barefoot. Samantha watched the guys as they set up a small stack of presents on Edgar's low coffee table, they were all talking at once and they reminded Samantha of a pack of hens. Jake was the first one to notice her and immediately broke away from the group and approached her.

"Antha, you look amazing. Motherhood really suits you" he said with a smile. "Can I touch your bump?"

"Sure" said Samantha.

"Come sit down" said Jake leading her to the couch.

The other guys in the room watched with envy as Jake led her to the couch and helped her sit. Then he sat down next to her and placed his hands on her stomach moving them around looking for the baby. Next he laid his head down on her listening. Samantha smiled down at him and moved his hand to where she felt the baby. As if responding to her silent command the baby kicked.

"He's really strong" said Jake sitting up.

"Yep, and he's not afraid to let me know" said Samantha.

"Can I get you something? Water or juice, maybe a pillow for your back?" asked Jake.

"Just help me up. I need to check on dinner, you know make sure Edgar didn't eat all the sauce" said Samantha holding out her hands.

Jake stood and hoisted her off the couch and gave her a gentle hug before releasing her.

"What the fuck Jake? When did you learn to be such a nice guy?" asked Matt.

"I was raised by 4 sisters, I know how to be a nice guy" said Jake smugly.

"No kidding. We should have taken you to the airport" said Norman.

"Why? Did you guys do something to her at the airport?" asked Jake.

"Sig asked if I was sure I wasn't carrying twins" said Samantha.

"Oh shit. Please tell me you didn't say that" said Jake.

"Oh shut the fuck up. I didn't mean to say that she was fat, just that she looked really pregnant" said Sig.

"You aren't winning back any points with your explanation" said Samantha in a sing song voice.

Sig opened his mouth to respond and Jake put a hand on his arm.

"I'd just quit trying to explain. She's got a lot of hormones floating around and you don't want to get hurt" said Jake. "And trust me she'll hurt you."

Sig sneered but held his tongue. Samantha stood in the kitchen watching the interplay between Jake and Sig. She'd never seen Jake like this and frankly she found it rather amusing. Edgar drew her from her thoughts by telling her the salad was done. She looked over at it and smiled her approval.

"I think that's everything. We should probably sit down and eat" said Samantha. "I'm starving."

The last of the dishes were being dried in the kitchen while Samantha sat on the couch with her feet propped on a pillow. She craned her neck to check out her legs trying to see if they were more swollen than normal. Leaning forward she desperately tried to reach her glass of water but her stomach impeded her reach. Norman took pity on her and handed it to her.

"Thanks" she said.

"You're welcome, I wouldn't want you squishing my nephew" said Norman.

"He's fine, a little squishing will just remind him who's boss" said Samantha.

"Is he moving around?" asked Norman.

"Yep, he always does after dinner" said Samantha.

Samantha noticed Norman's straying eyes and grabbed his hand placing it on her stomach. Norman's eyes widened as he felt the baby moving beneath Samantha's dress.

"It's amazing" said Norman in quiet reverence.

"It really is" said Samantha quietly.

The moment was broken by Jake appearing with two large slices of ice cream cake. Samantha's eyes lit up when she saw the tasty treat. Taking the plate from Jake she carefully balanced it on her stomach while she grabbed a napkin.

"That's a pretty handy little table you've got" said Nick.

"I know, it's very cool as long as the occupant isn't feeling frisky. He can kick a remote off my stomach if he tries hard enough" said Samantha.

"How are you feeling?" asked Nick. "You look absolutely amazing."

"I'm feeling good and very pregnant. It's really nice to see all of you again" said Samantha.

"Yeah, I'm really glad you're here. I hope you stay" said Nick.

"We'll have to wait and see" said Samantha.

"What have you been doing with yourself?" asked Nick.

"Freelance work, it's really nice not to have to drag myself into an office everyday. It was especially helpful when I was throwing up ten times a day" said Samantha.

"I bet. I hope you had someone there to hold back your hair" said Nick.

"Just a hairband" said Samantha.

Nick looked apologetic but let the subject drop. He leaned over and pulled a gift bag out of the pile and handed it to her. Samantha opened it and extracted a set of pajamas with little boats on them.

"Thanks Nick, these are adorable" she said.

"Open mine next" chirped Jake.

He passed Samantha a box wrapped in rubber ducky paper. Samantha tore into the box and pulled out a picture frame and a teddy bear.

"Thanks Jake, these are beautiful" said Samantha.

"Mine next" said Matt.

Samantha pulled out an under the sea baby crib soother.

"Wow, this is very cool. I'm beginning to sense a pattern" said Samantha.

"Look at mine then" said Sig.

Samantha opened the bag and pulled out two onsies. The first had the Northwestern logo on it and the second said shut up and fish. Samantha smiled to herself and pulled the shut up and fish onsie up to her belly as if checking if it would fit.

"It looks perfect" said Samantha.

Norman handed her a small box. Samantha pulled off the ribbon and carefully opened the lid, inside was a silver spoon and cup.

"I wanted to get them engraved with his name, but I didn't know what it would be. Once you have the name I'll get it done" explained Norman.

"I haven't picked out a name yet" said Samantha.

"Why not? What do you call him when you talk to him?" asked Sig.

"I just haven't thought of a name. I call him Pele or my little kickie monster, basically just nicknames" said Samantha her cheeks bushing with embarrassment.

Everyone in the room was quiet for a moment before Edgar handed her his gift. It was a small envelope. Samantha opened it and immediately closed it.

"I can't accept this" she said trying to hand it back.

"You have to. I missed supporting you this whole pregnancy. There is enough there to buy all the baby stuff you need" said Edgar.

"Edgar, there is enough here for me to buy a baby" said Samantha. "It's too much."

"Please just take it, I feel terrible for not supporting you both personally and financially. At least let me make up for the financial part" said Edgar.

"Can we just talk about it later" said Samantha. "Possibly without an audience."

Edgar looked around and noticed all the guys were watching them with rapt attention. Seeing that the discussion wasn't going to continue Matt and Jake cleaned up the cake plates and said their goodbyes. Norman and Sig were the next to leave giving Samantha gentle hugs and kisses. Nick pulled Samantha aside telling her if she needed anything to call. Samantha gave him a fierce hug and walked him to the door. Once everyone was gone she walked back over to the couch and laid down.

"You look exhausted, lets get you to bed" said Edgar.

Samantha acquiesced and let Edgar lead her into the guest room. He pulled out a nightgown for her and turned his back while she changed. After a quick bathroom pit stop Samantha climbed into bed. Edgar stepped up and tucked the blankets around her loosely before dropping a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Good night Antha, sleep well" he said.

"Good night Edgar, we'll talk in the morning" said Samantha sleepily.

"What ever you want" said Edgar.

He walked to the door and turned off the light before walking into his room.

A few hours later Edgar heard the distinct sound of shuffling feet trudging down the hallway. He sat up in bed and listened. The sound of the fridge opening and a glass being set on the sink. He assumed Samantha was getting a glass of water and laid back down. He heard the same sounds again an hours later so he decided to get up and check to make sure Samantha was alright.

"Hey" said Edgar as he stepped into the hallway.

"Oh shit" said Samantha dropping the glass on the floor.

"Sorry" said Edgar. "Hey, don't pick that up, let me get it."

Edgar quickly picked up the glass and grabbed a towel from the bathroom to sop up the water.

"Are you ok?" asked Edgar.

"Yes, just a little startled" said Samantha.

"I didn't mean to scare you" said Edgar. "But I was worried, you've been up to the kitchen twice already."

"I know, I get up to go to the bathroom, then I'm thirsty so I have to get some water, drink it go back to bed then have to get up to pee. It's a vicious cycle" explained Samantha.

She stretched her hands clutching at her lower back. She was wearing a short nightgown which was slightly sheer when backlit by the bedroom light. Edgar tried not to stare at her breasts as she arched her back.

"Does you back hurt?" asked Edgar.

"Everything hurts at this point" said Samantha.

"What hurts the worst?" asked Edgar.

"Probably my feet. I never wear shoes anymore because they just feel so uncomfortable" said Samantha.

"You look cute barefoot" said Edgar.

"Yes, you've already said so" said Samantha. "Barefoot and pregnant that is."

"Come in and I'll give you a back rub" said Edgar.

"You don't have to" said Samantha.

"I want to. We don't have to talk about anything, I just want to help you feel better" said Edgar.

Samantha reluctantly agreed and followed Edgar into his bedroom. The first thing she noticed was the sheets were different.

"You changed your sheets" said Samantha.

"Yeah, I threw the other ones out" said Edgar.

"Oh" said Samantha.

"Listen, I had someone staying here and I just didn't want any reminders of her" said Edgar.

"I understand. Sig told me about your special lady friend" said Samantha.

"I wouldn't really use any of those words to describe her" said Edgar.

"Then how would you describe her?" asked Samantha.

"I wouldn't" said Edgar evasively.

"You don't owe me an explanation. We weren't together, you're an adult and can do whatever you want" said Samantha.

"Did you date anyone?" asked Edgar.

"No. Between the throwing up and reestablishing my career I was kind of busy" said Samantha.

"I don't know what to say" said Edgar. "I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to say, it is what it is. It's the past and you didn't know I was pregnant" said Samantha.

"I wish I had known" said Edgar.

There was a brief silence where both people in the room felt sad about what they'd missed out on. Edgar broke the tension by coaxing Samantha onto her side and began to rub.

"Wow, you've gotten really..." began Edgar.

Samantha cringed at what the next words were going to be.

"soft" finished Edgar.

"Soft?" repeated Samantha.

"Yeah, your skin is ridiculously soft" said Edgar his hands slipping along her shoulders.

"Oh, well I've been using lotion all over me in an effort to stave off stretch marks. So far I've been pretty lucky" said Samantha.

"Did you bring your lotion with you?" asked Edgar.

"Yes, it's in my room" said Samantha.

"Do you want me to use it?" asked Edgar hopefully.

"If you want to slather lotion on me in the middle of the night then go ahead" said Samantha.

Edgar got out of bed and quickly returned with the bottle of lotion. He squirted a fair amount of lotion into his hands and rubbed them together to warm it up. The moment his hands touched Samantha's back she sighed. Edgar smiled to himself as his hands roamed over her body. He lifted the nightgown exposing her back and began to rub there. His hands glided over her hips over the top of her butt.

"I suppose there is no way to ask you to roll onto your stomach" said Edgar.

"I'm afraid not. There is a huge bump preventing me from rolling" said Samantha.

"How about laying on your back?" asked Edgar.

Samantha responded by rolling onto her back.

"Is that comfortable for you?" asked Edgar.

"I need to put my feet on something, it makes my back feel better" said Samantha.

Edgar slid a pillow under her feet and began to rub her legs. He reached the tops of her thighs and moved her nightgown so he could rub her tummy. Settling into a stroking rhythm he traversed her stomach rubbing in the lotion. Samantha closed her eyes, her mouth slightly open in awe as her body was rubbed for the first time in almost 9 months. Edgar watched the emotions pass across her face happy that she seemed so relaxed. Suddenly her face changed from a smile to a frown.

"What's wrong?" asked Edgar.

"I have to go to the bathroom again" said Samantha.

"You just went" said Edgar.

"I know, but I'm going 30 times a day" said Samantha.

She struggled to sit up and Edgar quickly reached over and pulled her to her feet.

"Thanks" said Samantha.

She waddled over to Edgar's bathroom and quickly relieved herself. While she was washing her hands she noticed a bottle of perfume on the shelf. She reached up and smelled it.

"Edgar, why do you have this perfume?" asked Samantha.

"No reason" replied Edgar.

Samantha stood in the doorway and looked at Edgar lounging on the bed looking everywhere but her.

"It's the same kind that I use. Did your other girlfriend use it?" asked Samantha.

"NO! replied Edgar vehemently. "I just have it because I like the way it smells."

"Did you wear it?" asked Samantha.

"No, I sometimes sprayed it or just sniffed the bottle. I know it's pathetic" said Edgar.

"It's not pathetic, it's kind of cute" said Samantha.

Samantha stepped back into the bathroom before she walking back into the bedroom. She walked towards the bed and sat down next to Edgar's reclining body. His head perked up when she sat down.

"You smell good" he said with a smile.

"Thanks, someone had a bottle of my perfume so I thought I would dab some on" said Samantha.

"Where did you put it?" asked Edgar sitting up.

"Here" said Samantha pointing to her neck.

"And here" she said pointing to her ears.

After each time she pointed Edgar would place a gentle kiss on the spot. She smiled happily at each kiss. Edgar gathered her face in his hands a placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Samantha's heart stopped, the feelings overwhelmed her body. He nipples hardened and she felt herself get wet. It was like the kiss had flipped a switch in her touch deprived body. Edgar pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I just forgot how much I missed that" said Samantha.

"Do you want to do it again?" asked Edgar.

"Yes. Very much" said Samantha.

They kissed again, their hands roaming around each others bodies. Edgar rolled her onto her back before he stopped.

"What's wrong?" asked Samantha.

"It's just. I don't want to hurt the baby" said Edgar.

"Oh, well I guess I do look a lot different than last time you saw me" said Samantha.

She started to sit up, suddenly feeling very embarrassed about the whole situation.

"No, don't move, just let me get a better angle" said Edgar.

"It's ok" said Samantha sitting up and flinging her feet over the side of the bed.

"Please don't go. I've missed you so much" said Edgar.

"I'm sure you've had a substitute" said Samantha.

"Who?" asked Edgar.

"The special lady friend" said Samantha.

"No, we never did anything. I couldn't" said Edgar.

"Couldn't?" asked Samantha.

"I just couldn't get it up with her. I think my brain knew I was making a mistake" said Edgar.

"Oh" said Samantha clearly surprised.

Edgar looked away clearly embarrassed by his admission. Samantha moved onto her knees and scooted over to him. Her hands caressed his neck and started to kneed his shoulders. He could feel her belly pressed against his back and it made him smile. She rubbed his shoulders before pushing him down onto his stomach. Straddling his back she pulled his shirt off of him and squeezed a bit of her lotion onto his back. Edgar jumped as the cold liquid hit his back.

"Sorry, I guess I should have warmed it up like you did" said Samantha.

Her hands slid over his skin massaging the lean muscles across his back. She smiled as she pulled across the ticklish spot near his side. She giggled softly as she touched it again.

"You're the only one who knows about that tickle spot" said Edgar.

Eventually Samantha's hands got tired and she rolled off of him. When she settled herself back on the bed she saw that Edgar was fast asleep. Shaking her head she went to the bathroom one last time before settling into bed next to him. She pulled the blanket over both of them and closed her eyes.


	26. Chapter 26

The warm light filtered through the drawn curtains of the bedroom. It was still early and the light was fairly faint. However, it was enough for Edgar to find annoying and cause him to roll away from the light. Turning onto his side he found himself snuggled up against Samantha's back. In his sleepy state he moved her towards him, pulling her butt flush against his groin, her warm body fit perfectly against him. During the night Samantha's nightgown had gotten bunched around her waist leaving her thighs and bottom completely exposed. Edgar's hands slipped around her waist casually caressing her stomach before moving up to her breasts. The nightgown was loose and he was easily able to slip his hands into the top and caress her soft nipples. Samantha was convinced she was having a wonderful dream, one that she absolutely did not want to wake up from. She ground her body against Edgar's loving the warm strength of him. His lips found the side of her neck and nibbled at it. The feeling was enough to wake her from her dream and realize what was happening was real.

"Good Morning" said Samantha her voice purring.

"Morning beautiful" said Edgar nibbling on her ear.

He turned her in his arms and was immediately accosted by her tummy. Instead of backing away Edgar moved himself down to kiss it. His stubble tickled her and she started to squirm.

"Now now" said Edgar his hand gently holding her down.

He moved south pulling her underwear down and off of her. He smiled at her perfectly trimmed patch of hair. Samantha realized what he was going to do and spread her legs in invitation. Edgar saw her movement and didn't waste a moment. He licked and sucked her until she was thrashing wildly on the bed.

"Please Edgar, I want you in me" she said breathlessly.

Edgar moved back and before he had a chance to ask the best way to accomplish her request, Samantha was up on her knees facing away from him. He pulled down his boxers, lined up and sunk home.

"Oh my God, you are so tight" moaned Edgar.

"Thank you" said Samantha squeezing her inner muscles.

Edgar moaned again and his hands dug reflexively into Samantha's hips. The passion in the room seemed to take on a life of it's own. It completely wrapped around the pair pulling them closer both physically and emotionally. As they reached orgasm together both felt a profound sense of happiness. Samantha felt the trickle of what she thought was sweat dripping onto her back, however when she looked back through her own watery eyes she saw that Edgar was crying too. Edgar laid down next to her helping to cover her with the light sheet. The baby was kicking hard and the movement could easily be seen on her naked belly. Edgar laid his hands on her pushing back where the baby kicked, it was a game for both of them. Samantha watched them for little while before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Edgar followed her into dreamland a little while later.

Hours later the smell of bacon woke Edgar from his slumber. His eyes cracked open and as he glanced at the empty spot next to him. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that she was up and cooking, but he wished she would have woken him up before she got up. As he walked into the kitchen he saw that Samantha was still dressed in her nightgown and was putting the finishing touches on a huge sandwich.

"What's cooking good looking?" asked Edgar.

"A bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado sandwich with extra mayo" said Samantha.

"I'm impressed I even had all those things" said Edgar.

"Me too, but you get extra points for making a pregnant girls day" said Samantha.

She stood on tiptoe and pressed a kiss into Edgar's cheek. His arms encircled her and pressed his lips to hers. Just as he deepens the kiss Samantha pulls away.

"Sorry, but I need to eat" she explained.

"Roger" said Edgar. "Sig told me about your amazing sandwich eating abilities."

"Well now you can watch it live and in person" said Samantha.

She walked over to the dinning room table and quickly started devouring her food. Edgar grabbed a coke from the fridge and sat down across from Samantha to watch her eat.

"You can make yourself a sandwich" said Samantha. "Because if you are expecting me to give you some of mine it's absolutely not going to happen."

Edgar shook his head and got up to make himself a sandwich. When the meal was finished and the dishes were in the sink both Edgar and Samantha decided to get dressed for the day.

Edgar followed Samantha around the farmers market with a handful of bags. She'd insisted that she wanted to go shopping. Edgar had already been dragged to a baby clothes store and another clothes store where Samantha bought herself a very cute dress for the fourth of July party on the boat. Samantha insisted on making a delicious for dinner for just the two of them and that required a trip to the green market. Edgar loped along behind her watching her smiling excitedly at the vendors, asking questions about the produce. She would pick up and smell each item she touched. Her enthusiasm was almost contagious. Edgar struggled to carry all the bags to the truck. Samantha did her part carrying a few of the lighter bags. Edgar stowed the bags in the bed before helping Samantha into the truck.

"So how much food are you planning to make?" asked Edgar.

"I was thinking maybe a caprice salad with the fresh milk mozzarella, then maybe some pesto chicken and some yummy fruit for dessert" said Samantha. "However, I suppose it could change once I get all this stuff home."

Edgar smiled to himself at the way Samantha said home. By the time Edgar had climbed into the driver seat Samantha was already eating her second apple.

"Can I have a bite or are you not sharing?" asked Edgar.

Samantha held the apple up to his mouth allowing him to take a bite.

"Wow, that's awesome" said Edgar. "How many did you buy?"

"Three" said Samantha.

"You should have gotten more" said Edgar.

"She only had three left. We can come earlier next week and see if we can buy more. They would make an amazing apple pie" said Samantha.

"Are you planning on staying?" asked Edgar.

"I wasn't really sure what to expect when I agreed to come up here. Sig was less then forthcoming about your state of mind and where we stood with each other. I honestly expected you to still be with your girlfriend and I agreed to come up only so you could see that I was pregnant. Norman said it would be helpful to snap you out of your depression" explained Samantha.

"How do you feel now?" asked Edgar.

"I want to stay. I love you" said Samantha softly.

"I love you too. I never stopped loving you" said Edgar.

He leaned over and kissed Samantha softly on the lips. Samantha pulled back and took a bite of the apple.

"Lets go home" said Samantha her voice full of promise.

Halfway through the drive home Samantha started to squirm. Edgar noticed and patiently waited for her to tell him what's wrong.

"I need to go to the bathroom. Now!" said Samantha.

"Ok, we can stop at Sig's house, he lives right around the corner" said Edgar.

He pulled off the highway and quickly drove through the suburban streets up to Sig's house. Samantha was out of the car before it was even stopped, scurrying up to Sig's front door. She was delighted to find the door unlocked and burst through it into the foyer.

"Hi Sig, which way to the bathroom?" she called as she hedged her bet and headed left.

"Hi Antha, this is a pleasant surprise" said Norman.

"Bathroom" repeated Samantha her voice desperate.

"Right through there" said Norman pointing to the hallway.

Samantha made it just in time and breathed a huge sigh of relief. She washed her hands and exited the bathroom. Norman was waiting just outside the door and smiled in relief as Samantha appeared.

"Everything come out ok?" he asked.

"Fine. Thanks for showing me the way. I'd hate to leave a puddle on Sig's carpet" said Samantha.

"There has definitely been worse on this carpet" said Norman.

"How do you know?" asked Samantha.

"Because we all grew up in this house" explained Norman.

"Oh" said Samantha in surprise.

Her eyes scanned the house, it was decorated in such modern colors and furnishings that she would have never imagined the Hansen brothers lived here 30 years ago.

"Sig has painted it and put in the new carpet. We use to have a lovely green shag in the living room" said Norman.

"How could he take that out? I'm sure it was really a sight to see" said Samantha.

Norman led her through the house stopping when they arrived in the kitchen.

"Antha, can I get you something to drink?" asked Norman.

"Sure, some water would be great" said Samantha.

Samantha's eyes scanned the kitchen and noticed a bowl of chocolates on the counter. She stepped closer and picked up one of the chocolate bars examining the packaging.

"Antha, if you are going to eat one of those you better finish it completely and throw the wrapper away before Sig sees you" said Norman.

"He wouldn't deny a pregnant woman a piece of chocolate" said Samantha.

"He would, trust me" said Norman.

Samantha picked up one of the chocolate bars and walked over to the counter and sat down on one of the stools. Norman set down the glass of water in front of her before pulling himself up onto the counter.

"Does Sig allowed you to sit on his counters?" asked Samantha.

"I've always sat on the counter, you're sitting in Edgar's seat and Sig always sat at the table" said Norman.

"Norman, get the hell off the counter" said Sig as he breezed into the kitchen.

Edgar appeared a minute later carrying in the bags of groceries.

"Sig, can I please have one of these chocolate bars?" asked Samantha.

Sig turned slowly and looked down at the candy in her hand. He then turned back and inspected his bowl.

"That's my last one" said Sig.

"Oh, ok" said Samantha sliding the candy bar away from her.

"For fuck's sake Sig, give the pregnant lady the candy" said Norman. "You can always buy more."

"They're from Norway" said Sig.

"And have all our relatives that live there suddenly died?" asked Norman.

"Fine. Antha you can eat it" said Sig grumpily.

"My God, this must be the best chocolate bar ever" said Samantha.

She unwrapped the chocolate bar and took a small bite. Her eyes closed as the treat melted on her tongue, all three Hansen brothers noticed the look on her face.

"Sig, this is the best chocolate I've ever had" said Samantha.

"I can tell" said Sig.

Samantha sat quietly at the counter her eyes closed in blissful enjoyment of the chocolate. When she was all finished her reopened her eyes and noticed that everyone was still staring at her.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"I've never seen anyone enjoy chocolate so much" said Norman.

"How do you know Sig doesn't look like this every time he eats it" countered Samantha.

"Wow, that is a very disturbing image" said Norman. "I need to go scrub my brain out."

"Antha, you can help yourself to my chocolate anytime" said Sig.

"Well, what are you going to say?" said Samantha to Edgar.

"I just want to say that I've seen that look before without chocolate" said Edgar smugly.

Samantha rolled her eyes and finished up her chocolate.

"Why are the grocery bags in here?" asked Samantha.

"I was hoping you'd be willing to join Norman and me for dinner" said Sig.

"Oh, sure" said Samantha.

"I brought the food inside incase you had something in particular in mind" said Edgar.

"We can make whatever you want" said Norman.

"Within reason" finished Sig.

"So if I wanted something like shaved fennel salad with dill and lemon? You could make that for me" said Samantha.

"Um, I guess. But we'd probably need a little bit of clarification on how exactly we would go about making it" said Norman.

Samantha smiled and shook her head.

"I'll happily eat whatever you cook for me. I have no special requests at this time" said Samantha.

Edgar led Samantha into the living room and helped her into a very cushy recliner. The moment she sunk into the soft material her eyes became heavy and a few minutes later she was fast asleep. Edgar returned to the kitchen to help his brothers with dinner.

Samantha sat at the table watching the three Hansen brothers fuss over the final dinner details. She'd never seen them work so closely together, on the boat Sig was always separated from the younger two brothers. Here in the kitchen they helped each other grudgingly often purposely taking a moment to complete the request of another. They didn't look like the professionals that ran a multimillion dollar fishing business, instead they looked like bratty brothers fighting and teasing each other. It wasn't hard to imagine their mother looking upon this exact same scene 30 years earlier.

"Come on Edgar, just move" said Sig.

"I'm in the middle of doing something, go around the other way" replied Edgar.

Samantha was hungry and starting to get grumpy. She realized that the brothers were going to fight rather than cook and if she wanted to eat she was going to have to step in.

"What can I do to help?" asked Samantha.

All three brothers looked over at her surprised to see her awake and watching them.

"You don't need to help" said Sig.

"I do, because I see this is going to disintegrate into some sort of bizarre food fight if I don't. I''m hungry and you never want to make a pregnant woman wait to get something to eat" said Samantha.

"Roger" said Norman.

Edgar and Sig both looked at him before nodding their agreement. Samantha moved into the kitchen and got to work. Before long dinner was on the table and everyone was ready to dig in. Sig said a short prayer blessing the food and then it was a scramble of hands grabbing at the food all at once.

"I imagine that your mom had her hands full with all of you" said Samantha.

"She did" said Sig.

The rest of the meal was spent reminiscing about how horrible the guys were when they were kids. Samantha listened with rapt attention and the guys fed off each other as they told their stories. She heard all about Sig as the abusive older brother, Norman as the hot headed middle child and Edgar as the spoiled baby of the family.

"So do you hope you are going to have an Edgar or a Sig?" asked Norman.

"What about a Norman?" asked Samantha.

"You can't have a Norman without one or the other" replied Norman.

"I'm hoping to have a nice well behaved little boy" said Samantha.

"Good luck with that. That kid is half Hansen, he's going to be a terror" said Sig.

Samantha just sighed and helped herself to another serving of food.

The dock of the Northwestern was decked out with tables and chairs, it looked more like a pleasure ferry than a working crab boat. The caterers hurried around the deck placing centerpieces and silverware. Sig sat in the wheelhouse, with Norman, pacing with excitement. Norman watched his older brother looking very wary.

"Sig, I think it's a bad idea" said Norman.

"I disagree. They wanted to get married on the boat before, what's changed?" asked Sig.

"Well for starters you basically forced Edgar to choose you over Samantha, then she left and didn't see him for another 8 months. She went through almost an entire pregnancy by herself. Edgar slipped into a self destructive depression. And they've just started getting to know each other again a few days ago" said Norman.

"But besides that, it's a good idea. I think they will be surprised" said Sig.

"You shouldn't surprise a pregnant woman" said Norman.

"Says who? It's a great idea" said Sig.

"Says anyone with half a brain" said Norman. "At least tell Edgar, so he can hint to her or something."

"I want it to be a surprise for Edgar too. You know it will show him that I approve" said Sig.

"I don't think Edgar gives a flying fuck about your approval" said Norman.

Sig glared at Norman then returned to pacing.

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt your exercise but they're here" said Norman.

Sig stopped pacing and glanced out the window. Sure enough coming up the dock was Edgar and Samantha. She was wearing a beautiful summer dress and Edgar was wearing a casual collared shirt and khakis.

"They look good enough to get married" muttered Sig.

Norman rolled his eyes in response and headed down to warn Samantha about Sig's surprise. Before he got halfway across the wheelhouse Sig's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't you dare tell them. It's a surprise and I want it to stay that way" said Sig warningly.

Norman sighed and continued walking. He knew he wouldn't say anything specifically but he hoped Edgar and Samantha were in the mood for a quick game of charades.

"Hey Norman" said Samantha as Edgar helped her down onto the deck.

"How are you doing?" asked Norman.

"I'm good. I've been having fun with Edgar, getting my feet massaged every day" said Samantha.

"That's good. I'm glad Edgar's been treating you well" said Norman.

"What's up with you" said Edgar. "You seem nervous."

"I am, but I'm sworn to secrecy" said Norman conspiratorially.

A smile spread across Edgar's face and he slipped a hand onto Samantha's arm and led her towards the bow shelter.

"What's going on?" asked Samantha warily.

"Charades" said Edgar.

"What?" said Samantha in confusion.

"When we were younger and someone couldn't tell a secret we'd always guess by playing charades" said Edgar.

Samantha sat down between two steel pipes and Edgar stood next to her. Once they were settled Norman held up 5 fingers.

"Ok, 5 words" said Edgar.

Norman held up his index finger.

"First word" said Edgar.

Samantha just smiled and watched as the brothers played the game. Norman pointed to the wheelhouse.

"The boat" guessed Edgar causing Norman to shake his head.

"Sig" he guessed again.

Norman nodded enthusiastically. Next he held up 4 fingers.

"Fourth word" said Edgar.

Norman held his hands together and walked one step then another in a slow march. Edgar stared at him, completely at a loss as to what Norman was showing him.

"Walking?" guessed Edgar.

Norman shook his head, then waved his arms to negate his first attempt. He then pointed to Edgar and Samantha then pointed to his ring finger.

"Holding hands?" guessed Edgar.

Norman shook his head again, this time more forcefully. Before he could begin acting out his next hint Samantha's eyes widened. Norman looked at her anxiously, hoping she'd just figured out his clues. However, a voice from behind him told him that was not the case.

"What's going on here" said Sig.

Edgar and Norman both looked like kids caught red handed.

"Well" prompted Sig.

"Nothing" mumbled Edgar.

"It doesn't look like nothing, it looks like a game of charades" said Sig menacingly.

"Who's driving the boat?" asked Samantha suddenly.

"I'll go" said Norman all but sprinting up the wheelhouse.

Before Sig could even react he was gone.

"What the hell. We are in port, no one needs to drive the boat" snapped Sig.

"Oh sorry" said Samantha looking anything but apologetic.

"What did he tell you?" demanded Sig.

"Nothing" said Edgar dejectedly.

Sig seemed to search Edgar's face for a moment before nodding once. He walked over to Samantha and gave her a tender kiss on the forehead before heading back inside.

"That was weird" said Samantha.

"Did you understand what Norman was trying to say?" asked Edgar.

"No idea" said Samantha.

"I guess we'll find out sooner or later" said Edgar with a shrug.

With that Samantha and Edgar went inside to wait for everyone else to arrive.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: sorry for the terrible delay. Please keep reading and reviewing and I will try to update more often.

The party on the Northwestern was in full swing. The Hansen brother's moved throughout the gathering of people saying hello to new friends and old. Edgar pulled Samantha along behind him introducing her to friends and family members. Many of the family members smiled welcoming at Samantha sharing stories about Edgar's youth and making assumptions about the baby's height, weight and fishing ability. Sig pulled the boat slowly out into the harbor, the parade would start in less than an hour and he needed to get in line. His plan was to marry Samantha and Edgar after the parade, while everyone was still on the boat. He'd dismissed Norman's concerns and set Jake on him to make sure he didn't spoil the surprise.

"Jake, just give me a minute to talk to Sig" said Norman as he walked into the wheelhouse.

"Hi Norman" said Sig indulgently.

"Please call off your lap dog" said Norman.

"Not until after the ceremony. I need you to keep your mouth shut until then and Jake is the perfect assistant" explained Sig.

"I hate you" muttered Norman as he walked back down towards the galley.

Sig smiled happily and quickly got the boat in line for the parade.

Down on deck Samantha was starting to feel a little sick. She patted Edgar on the arm and excused herself to go to the bathroom. As she walked into the house she ran right into Norman. While Norman looked shocked to see her, it was Jake that noticed something was wrong.

"Samantha, sit down. Let me get you a glass of water" said Jake.

"No, I'm ok. I just need to go to the bathroom" said Samantha.

"Norman, go to the bathroom with her. Just in case" said Jake. "I'll get her a cold glass of water."

"I really don't need an assistant" said Samantha as Norman walked behind her.

"Well Jake said just in case" said Norman.

Samantha slowly walked down the small hallway and wedged herself into the tiny bathroom. Norman closed the door for her and waited patiently for her to finish. However, the moment she opened the door instead of moving to let her out Norman crowded into the bathroom with her.

"What the hell?" asked Samantha.

Norman closed the door behind him and tried to move to give Samantha as much room as possible.

"Sorry, but I need to tell you something" said Norman. "It's important."

"You are going to tell me, not make me guess through charades or something" said Samantha.

"Sig plans to marry you and Edgar on the boat today" said Norman in a rush.

"What?" said Samantha.

"He wants to marry you guys" repeated Norman.

"Why? He was so against it before" said Samantha.

"He said it will show his approval of your relationship" said Norman.

"Thanks for telling me" said Samantha clutching her head.

Norman was about to say something else when the door of the bathroom opened and Jake's head appeared.

"Samantha, come out into the galley and sit down and drink a glass of water" said Jake his voice full of concern.

"Ok" said Samantha weakly.

It took a few moments for Norman and Samantha to wedge themselves out of the bathroom. But when they finally appeared in the galley Jake had a small plate of food and a large bottle of water sitting on the table waiting for Samantha. She sat down and gratefully took a sip of the water. Jake pressed the plate towards her pointing to a small toast point with a cucumber balanced on top. Samantha obediently took a bite of the food and took another sip of water. When she'd finished the plate of food and the water she sat back and closed her eyes.

"Samantha, do you want to rest for a little bit?" asked Jake.

"Yeah, maybe just lie down for a few minutes" said Samantha sleepily.

Jake and Norman helped her up to Sig's stateroom and settled her into his bunk. Then they returned to the deck to tell Edgar where she was.

Edgar sat on the side of the bunk where Samantha was resting. She was still asleep and didn't show signs of waking anytime soon. Sig stood in the doorway anxiously awaiting Edgar's report. Finally loosing patience he charged into the room to stand over Edgar, encouraging a quick answer.

"She's sleeping" said Edgar.

"I can see that. Wake her up. I want to show you guys something" said Sig impatiently.

"Sig, she's not feeling good. I'm just going to let her rest until we get back to the dock and then take her home" said Edgar.

Sig ran a hand through his hair and counted to 10. These two were ruining his entire plan.

"I have a surprise for you guys" said Sig his voice taking on a whining quality.

"So give it to me. I'll share it with her later" said Edgar.

"I can't just give it to you. I need to give it to both of you at the same time" said Sig.

"Then you are going to have to wait for another day" said Edgar firmly.

"Ugh, you are so annoying" said Sig as he turned and stomped out of the room.

"For a second there I thought he was going to kick something" murmured Samantha.

"Are you ok?" asked Edgar.

"Not really. I'm exhausted and all the rocking is making me feel sick" said Samantha her eyes still tightly shut.

"We're almost to the dock and then we can head back home so you can rest on dry land" said Edgar.

"Ok" said Samantha.

Edgar walked towards the door, he was hesitant to leave Samantha alone even for a moment, but he needed to speak to Sig. He hadn't even gotten to the door when Sig appeared in the doorway.

"Is she feeling better?" asked Sig.

"I don't think so. She's probably a little seasick" said Edgar.

"I hope she feels better" said Sig.

"I'm sorry we ruined your plan" said Edgar.

"No your not, but you should be. It's a great surprise" said Sig.

"Yeah well, do you want to tell me what it was or do I have to wait to hear it from Norman?" asked Edgar.

"I wanted to marry you guys, like you wanted me to do before" said Sig.

Edgar smiled an easy smiled and pulled his brother into a hug.

"Thanks for giving us your approval" said Edgar.

"You deserve to make your own family and you couldn't have picked a better girl to do it with" said Sig. "I think she could do better, but apparently she really likes you."

"You are such an asshole" said Edgar.

Sig clapped Edgar on the back and walked back to the wheelhouse.

A few weeks later Sig found himself again on Samantha's doorstep in LA. He'd come at Edgar's request. Tentatively he knocked on the door wondering what on earth he was getting himself into. The door swung open revealing his youngest brother standing on the threshold wearing a polar fleece.

"Sig, you made it" said Edgar ushering his brother inside.

The moment Sig crossed into the foyer the chill of the house overwhelmed him. He looked down at the short sleeved shirt he was wearing and frowned.

"I hope you packed something warmer than that" said Edgar.

"It's freezing in here" said Sig.

"I know, but she's hot and it's her house" explained Edgar with a shrug.

"Where is Samantha?" asked Sig.

"She's working" said Edgar.

"She's still working? I thought she was on maternity leave?" said Sig.

"She is, but this is a small project and she's confident she can get it done before the baby arrives" said Edgar.

"Are you going to be back before the baby arrives?" asked Sig seriously.

"Yes, we still have a month" said Edgar. "I'm just going to help Norman out setting up tendering and then come back."

"I don't know why you think you have to go. Norman can do it himself" said Sig.

"Because I promised him I would help him. He's already taking over for me, it's my summer to run the boat. I don't want to leave him in a lurch" said Edgar. "Besides, Junior has a friend coming up to help, once he's trained then I'll head back home."

"How did Samantha take this little nugget of information?" asked Sig.

"She's fine with it. She even told me she wouldn't go into the hospital until I get back" said Edgar.

"That's a ridiculous promise. If she goes into labor I'm damn well taking her into the hospital if I have to throw her over my shoulder and carry her myself" said Sig.

"Good luck with that" said Edgar. "Come into the kitchen, it's slightly warmer in there."

Sig and Edgar were sitting in the kitchen eating at the counter when Samantha waddled into the room. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt that said bun in the oven.

"Nice shirt" said Sig.

"Thanks" said Samantha. "Why is it so hot in here?"

"I just cooked something" said Edgar. "I made a grilled cheese for you."

Samantha's eyes lightened and her smiled broadened.

"Thanks" she said taking a bite of the sandwich.

Edgar got her a large glass of milk from the fridge and dropped a few ice cubes into it. She leaned over Sig to grab the glass rubbing her tummy against his arm. Sig was startled by the movement of her stomach.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Sorry about that. I don't really know my clearance" said Samantha patting her tummy.

"Was that the baby moving?" asked Sig.

"Yes" said Samantha.

She grabbed Sig's hand and placed it on her cloth covered stomach, he could clearly feel the baby moving around.

"Amazing" said Sig quietly.

"Alright, I'm going back to work. Thanks for the sandwich" said Samantha as she swept out of the room.

Sig lay in bed staring at the ceiling, he was tired but couldn't seem to get to sleep. He pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders and tried to warm up. Sig rolled over and glanced at the clock, it read 1:45 am. With a sigh he got up out of bed and began rummaging through his bag for another sweatshirt. As he slipped the sweatshirt over his head he heard a muffled curse coming from Samantha's room. Getting a little worried, he decided to just walk in and check on her. He walked across the hall and found Samantha trying to roll over in bed. Sig watched her for a few minutes as she attempted to make the turn onto her side.

"Edgar, where are you when I need you" muttered Samantha.

"Do you need some help?" asked Sig uncomfortably from the doorway.

Samantha stopped trying to roll over and began to struggle to sit up. Sig realized that she wasn't going to be able to do it on her own and quickly walked into the room and helped her. Once she was sitting up he sat down next to her.

"Are you ok?" asked Sig.

"No. I can't roll over by myself anymore and usually Edgar is here to push me over and now he's gone and I'm all alone and I can't do anything" said Samantha, her eyes starting to tear up.

"Hey, I'll help you roll over" said Sig.

"You have to sleep with me" said Samantha.

"I really don't think that's necessary" said Sig uncomfortably.

"No, I mean you have to sleep in the bed with me. I roll over a lot. I can't lay on my back anymore, it's one side or the other and I move a lot during the night" explained Samantha.

"Oh" said Sig.

"Well? Will you do it?" asked Samantha.

"Yes. Just let me get another pair of socks" said Sig.

"Why do you need socks?" asked Samantha.

"Because it's freezing in here" said Sig.

"It's not" said Samantha defensively.

"Antha, it's not this cold in Alaska during opies" said Sig.

"Oh please. Why don't you go get your fuzzy socks and your knitted shawl and meet me back here" said Samantha.

"I forgot my shawl at home" said Sig with a playful smile.

Samantha just flopped down on her back in response. Sig returned a moment later and crawled into bed next to Samantha.

"How many pillows do you have in here?" asked Sig.

"I don't know, I lost count after ten" said Samantha.

"Which way do you want to turn?" asked Sig.

"Just give me a push up, I need to go pee" said Sig.

"What? I just got in here" said Sig.

"Yes, well welcome to my world. It takes me 45 minutes to get comfortable and then I have to get up to go to the bathroom" said Samantha.

"Sucks for you" said Sig.

"Thanks" said Samantha throwing a pillow at Sig's head.

"Hey, don't hurt me. What if I need to drive you to the hospital" said Sig.

"I thought Edgar told you. I'm waiting for him to get back before I go hospital" said Samantha.

"So what happens if you go into labor here? I'm not delivering your baby" said Sig.

"Don't worry about it" said Samantha. "We have plenty of time before the baby arrives."

Samantha waddled to the bathroom and Sig tossed some of the pillows to the floor in order to give himself a little more room in the bed. The moment Samantha emerged from the bathroom she stared critically at the bed.

"Did you move my pillows?" asked Samantha.

"No" said Sig.

"Oh really, you know I have a chart so I can check to see what was moved" said Samantha.

"You have a fucking chart?" said Sig in shock.

"Did you move my pillows?" asked Samantha again.

"Fine I moved the fucking pillows. I'll put it back" said Sig.

"You don't have to" said Samantha as she climbed into bed. "I know it's probably crowded in here with all of them. Edgar always moves them."

"What the hell, why did you just get all over me about moving them" said Sig clearly frustrated.

"Because you looked so guilty when I walked into the room" said Samantha with a wicked smile.

"You are a psychopath" said Sig.

"Not psychopathic, just pregnant" said Samantha.

"Right, doesn't seem to be too much of a difference" said Sig.

Samantha spent the next few minutes getting comfortable and when she finally got settled she fell asleep almost instantly. Sig covered her with the comforter and closed his eyes. He was startled awake what felt like moments later by a sharp jab to the sternum.

"What the hell" said Sig.

"Help me roll over" said Samantha.

Sig cracked his eyes open and reached over to Samantha's arm and gave it a light tug. He quickly realized that wasn't going to be enough to move her and reached his arm around her waist and turned her the rest of the way over. She was now facing him, her eyes slightly teary and her breath coming in quick gasps.

"Thanks" she said breathlessly.

"What's wrong?" asked Sig.

"I was laying on my back, which makes it hard for me to breath" said Samantha.

After a few tense minutes her breathing returned to normal and she settled back into sleep. Sig watched her until his eyes got heavy and eventually closed on their own. The next morning Sig awoke with a start to realize that Samantha was no longer in bed. He panicked for a moment then remembered that he was in her house and she obviously wasn't in distress because she would have woken him, she'd had no problem waking him up during the night to help her roll over. The smell of cooking sausage wafted up to the bedroom and Sig quickly got up and headed down to see what was for breakfast.

Sig was dozing in the backyard enjoying the warm breezes of the late afternoon. He was also trying to defrost from the freezing temperatures of the house. Samantha had been turning down the thermostat almost daily. When Sig had last checked it was down to 55. He heard a yelp followed by a curse from the house and immediately sprang into action. The scene he walked into made his head spin. Samantha was standing in what looked like a huge puddle of water. Her eyes were wide as saucers and her mouth was open in shock.

"Oh my God!" yelled Sig. "Your water broke."

"What?" said Samantha snapping back to reality.

"Your water broke, it's all over the floor" repeated Sig. "I'm going to get your bag, we need to get you to the hospital."

"My water didn't break" said Samantha.

"Of course it did, it's all over the floor, your socks are wet" said Sig smugly.

"My socks are wet because my fridge is leaking" said Samantha calmly.

"Are you sure?" asked Sig. "Maybe you just can't tell."

"Oh I think I would be able to tell if a few liters of liquid came gushing out of my vagina" said Samantha.

Sig grimaced at her choice of wording.

"Besides" continued Samantha. "This water is cold."

Sig took a step closer and his toe touched the edge of the puddle of water, it was ice cold. He took another step closer to where Samantha was standing and once again glanced down at the spreading puddle of water.

"Let me help you out of the water" said Sig.

Samantha allowed herself to be helped off the kitchen's slippery tiled floor and settled into a chair. Sig grabbed a towel and mopped up the mess, next he tried to see the source of the leak.

"I think we should just call a repairman" said Samantha.

"I'm sure I can fix it, once I know what's wrong" said Sig.

"That's a very expensive fridge and it came with an equally expensive warranty" said Samantha. "I got the warranty so I wouldn't have to worry about something breaking."

"Fine call someone, but I'm telling you I could have it fixed in a few minutes. Who knows when someone will be able to come out and fix the thing" said Sig.

Samantha reached into a drawer and pulled out the warranty card, she made a quick phone call and a few hours later the repair was finished. Samantha smugly went upstairs to bed leaving Sig downstairs glaring at the now repaired fridge.

"I should just break it, just to wipe that look off her face" said Sig to himself.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews.

The weeks passed and before Sig knew it was a week before Samantha's due date. He'd been living on pins and needles, each groan of cringe she made immediately made him think she was in labor. He was getting less sleep during the night than she was. He was currently staring at the closed bathroom door, she'd been in there a while and he was starting to get concerned. Finally his nerves couldn't take another minute and he walked up to the door and knocked.

"For God sakes Sig, I'm just going to the bathroom" said a very annoyed Samantha from the other side of the door.

"If you aren't flushing in the next thirty seconds I'm coming in" said Sig.

Sig's hand was on the handle when the toilet flushed and Samantha emerged looking murderous.

"What the hell, can't I have some privacy" said Samantha.

"I gave you plenty of time, it shouldn't take that long to go to the bathroom" said Sig.

"When did you go through your pregnancy, again? I forgot" countered Samantha. "It takes me a long time to do anything these days, so I suggest for your safety and my sanity that you just give the whole papa bear routine a break."

"I'd love to, but I promised Edgar that I would take care of you and this is how I choose to do it" said Sig.

"I'm sure he appreciates it" said Samantha quietly.

Sig smiled at her, happy this little tiff seemed to be passing. He noticed for the first time that she was dressed in regular clothes and suddenly her extended bathroom time wasn't his only worry.

"You look nice" said Sig suspiciously.

"Thank you. I have a few appointments" said Samantha vaguely.

"When do we leave?" asked Sig.

"You don't have to go with me. One is a doctor's appointment and the other is no big deal" said Samantha her eyes fixed on the wall directly behind Sig's right ear.

"I'm going. You shouldn't be driving this far along in your pregnancy" said Sig ignoring the glare he was getting.

"Fine, but you are going to regret coming" said Samantha.

"I already do" replied Sig to her retreating back.

"We leave in 5 minutes" called Samantha's voice from the hallway.

Sig sighed morosely before quickly heading to his room to change.

The doctors office was just as cold and sterile as any other he'd ever been in. The only difference is that he was surrounded by hormonal pregnant women. There were 2 women in the waiting room who were crying, a fact that made Sig very uncomfortable. He wasn't the only male in the small room, but he definitely felt like he was the only man. The other guy looked like he was about to pass out, throw up or burst into tears. Samantha sat next to him casually reading her kindle and completely ignoring Sig. When her name was called Sig stood and Samantha seemed to debate telling him to wait for her but as her eyes swept the waiting room she took pity on him and allowed him to follow her. Once the door of the small exam room closed Sig looked around for a place to sit. There was a small chair, the exam table and a stool. His first move was towards the stool.

"Don't sit there, the doctor sits there" said Samantha.

She hopped up on the table and began to move her shirt up and pants down exposing her rounded belly. The doctor breezed into the room a second later.

"Samantha, how are you feeling? Any changes in the last week? Contractions? Tightening?" rattled the doctor.

"No changes" replied Samantha.

"Is this your husband?" asked the doctor noticing Sig for the first time.

"No, I'm her brother in law" said Sig smoothly.

"Oh, that's nice of you to come with her" said the doctor.

The doctor explained the signs of labor to Samantha while measuring her tummy. Next he placed a small wand on her belly and the sound of the baby's heartbeat filled the room.

"His heart rate sounds great" said the doctor.

"It's great to hear" said Samantha quietly.

"OK, well that's all for today. I want to see you in exactly a week" said the doctor on his walk out the door.

Samantha stood up and straightened her clothes, she turned to grab her bag and noticed Sig hadn't moved.

"What are you waiting for? It's all done" said Samantha.

"That's it? You were in here for maybe 5 minutes" said Sig.

"Are you complaining?" asked Samantha.

"No, I'm not" said Sig. "Lets go to lunch."

After a filling lunch Samantha and Sig got back in the car but instead of heading in the direction of her house Samantha turned the opposite way. Sig said nothing, he figured they were probably going to hit pinkberry or something for an after lunch sweet treat. Samantha didn't often have cravings, but when she did there was really no stopping her. Just last week she'd dragged Sig to the middle of Pasadena for some sort of Thai noodle soup. It was delicious, but he didn't think it was worth the hour drive in traffic to get. The car pulled into a small strip mall and parked in front of a spa.

"Ok, just stay here" said Samantha.

"What? Why are you leaving me in the car?" asked Sig.

Samantha took a long suffering breath and stared up at the roof of the car. After a moment she shifted her gaze back to Sig.

"It's a spa, I'm getting some stuff waxed. I'll be back in like 30 minutes. I'll leave the keys in the car so you can listen to the radio" said Samantha.

"So you're getting stuff waxed, I don't see why I can't go with you" said Sig.

The last thing he wanted to do was sit in the parking lot looking like a stalker.

"Fine come in, you can sit in the waiting area or get your nails done, whatever you want. But I am almost late for this appointment so I have to go in now" said Samantha impatiently.

Sig followed her out of the car wondering if these pregnancy hormones were affecting her brain. Walking into the spa he was assaulted by the smell of lavender scented oil. Samantha walked up to the desk and quietly spoke to the women, her head jerked in Sig's direction and then a feral smile spread across her face. The woman walked over to Sig and gently took his arm.

"Right this way sir" she said.

"What? Where am I going?" asked Sig.

"Oh you are in a for a wonderful treat" said the woman seductively.

She took Sig into a small back room and placed him in a reclining chair. She smiled benignly and asked Sig to remove his shirt. Sig did as he was told and then settled himself on the chair. The chair reclined and the woman told him to close his eyes and she'd start with a soothing face massage. Sig relaxed as the woman firmly rubbed his tense forehead and cheeks. After a few moments she moved away turning towards a table behind Sig's head and then returned. Sig hadn't bothered to open his eyes and when the first drip of hot wax fell on his eyebrows he almost shot straight out of the chair.

"Sorry, the wax is a little warm" said the woman.

"Wax?" said Sig as his eyes shot open in time to see her place the small strip of fabric over the wax.

"Now, this won't hurt too much" said the woman.

From her room next door Samantha heard Sig howl at what she assumed was the first strip being pulled off his eyebrows. She smiled happily to herself. Originally she'd wanted him to get his back waxed but she had absolutely no idea if he even had back hair. She hoped this would teach him a lesson in not being so overly interested in what she was doing. When her waxing session was finished she walked out of the room and breezed towards the reception stand to pay the tab. The woman who had done Sig's eyebrows was standing there waiting for Samantha. Sig was sitting in a chair in the small waiting area shooting daggers at anyone who looked at him cockeyed.

"How was he?" asked Samantha as she handed over her credit card.

"He cried like a baby" said the woman.

Samantha stifled a laugh and quickly paid the tab, giving Sig's waxer a very generous tip.

"Ready?" she said to Sig.

"I hate you" was his only response.

Samantha studied his face for a moment, he was getting red angry welts around both his eyebrows and she wondered if she should stop for some ice on the way home.

"Why aren't you red?" asked Sig as he studied himself in the car's vanity mirror.

"I'm sure I am" said Samantha.

Sig again looked critically at her face and huffed.

"You are not, your face looks fine" said Sig.

"Of course it does. I didn't get anything on my face waxed" said Samantha.

"What the hell did you get waxed?" asked Sig.

"Somewhere else" said Samantha.

"Where?" asked Sig.

"For God's sake just drop it" said Samantha.

"Fine" said Sig petulantly.

The rest of the drive home was silent.

Edgar called that night to say he was on his way home. Samantha and Sig were both thrilled at his impending return and cooked a hearty dinner together to celebrate. Later after the dishes were finished Sig found himself alone downstairs. He got up and went to search for Samantha. He found her in the nursery, she was sitting in the glider rubbing a small crocheted blanket against her cheek. Sig watched her for a moment imagining her holding his nephew in her arms.

"Everything ok?" asked Sig.

Samantha looked up startled and seemed to take a moment to look at Sig.

"Yes, everything is fine" said Samantha. "In fact, everything is done. I finished the last of my to do list today."

"That huge list you've been carrying around with you for the last month?" asked Sig.

The list in question had been fuel for Sig's merciless teasing about Samantha's type A personality. He'd even taken to making suggestion about things to add.

"So you registered him for preschool like I suggested?" quipped Sig.

"Yes" said Samantha.

"Wow, well I guess all you are missing is Edgar and a baby" said Sig. "And Edgar should be here tomorrow."

"Then all I'll be missing is a baby" said Samantha hesitantly.

"Are you worried?" asked Sig.

"I suppose I'm more nervous" said Samantha. "I don't think I've ever even held a baby before."

"You'll be fine. You have the makings of a great mommy" said Sig.

"Thanks" said Samantha with a small smile.

"You took care of us all season and if you can deal with a bunch of crab fisherman you can handle anything" said Sig.

When he didn't get a immediate response he looked back down at Samantha. She was still sitting in the rocker moving slowly but her eyes had a faraway look to them. Deciding she probably needed a few minutes alone he quietly slipped back downstairs.

The next morning Sig woke up as the warm sunbeams threaded their way through the curtains of the spare room. Samantha was still in the nursery when he went to bed. Getting up and stretching he peeked into Samantha's room and for the first time since he arrived she was still in bed. Feeling especially smug about waking up before Samantha he hurried downstairs to start breakfast. When he arrived in the kitchen he found the coffee already brewed. He realized he hadn't gotten up as early as he thought. Glancing at the clock he was surprised that it was already 10 am. He'd never slept in so late, usually Samantha was up at 8 and had breakfast on the table by 8:30. Concern flooded his body, he took the stairs two at a time as he raced back up them to check on Samantha. In the room he quietly tip toed across the floor to her side of the bed. He studied her, her mouth was lax and her breathing was steady and slow. She was clearly still fast asleep. Confident that she was very much alive and healthy he walked back downstairs and started making breakfast. When the omelets were finished he made Samantha a small cup of hot cocoa. He placed everything on a tray and carried it up to her room. Setting it gently on the nightstand he carefully shook Samantha's shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and for a moment she looked very confused. Her eyes darted from Sig to the tray of food.

"Why are you up so early?" she asked sleepily.

"I'm not really" said Sig.

Samantha's eyes darted to the small alarm clock and her eyes widened as she noted the time.

"Come on Antha, even you deserve to sleep in every once and a while" said Sig. "Now sit up and eat your breakfast."

Samantha struggled to sit up in bed and once she was settled against the pillows Sig set the tray on her lap. She ate the food slowly savoring the delicious eggs and rich hot chocolate. Once she was finished Sig quickly cleared the tray and headed back downstairs. Samantha stayed in bed for the rest of the morning reading one of her expecting books. Sig checked on her from time to time most of the time she was sleeping. After seeing her sleeping again for the third time he decided to call Edgar.

"Hey Sig, what's up?" asked Edgar upon answering the phone.

"Where are you?" asked Sig.

"Um, just waiting for the plane to L.A. I stopped to get Antha a little snack. How's she doing?" asked Edgar.

"I'm not sure. I think something's wrong" said Sig.

"Like what?" asked Edgar.

"She's been sleeping all day" said Sig.

"So. She's probably tired" replied Edgar nonplussed.

"Edgar, I haven't seen her sleep this much in the whole month I've been here" said Sig.

"I'm sure she's fine, but if you are worried ask her if she's ok" said Edgar. "Don't worry too much, tell her I'll see her in a few hours."

"Roger" said Sig.

After his phone call with Edgar he walked back upstairs to check on Samantha. As he walked into the room he noticed the blanket was pulled off her legs and her tummy was exposed. He could clearly see the outline of the baby for a moment before her body seemed to relax.

"What the hell was that" he yelled.

Samantha was startled and quickly moved the shirt down over her belly.

"It's nothing" said Samantha.

"Nothing? I just saw the outline of the baby through your stomach and you want to tell me it's nothing" yelled Sig.

"It's a contraction, but it doesn't hurt" said Samantha.

"Where is your bag?" asked Sig.

"It's by the door where it's been for the past week" said Samantha.

"Then get dressed and lets go" said Sig already walking towards the door.

"Go where?" asked Samantha.

"The hospital" said Sig impatiently.

"I can't go yet" said Samantha.

"It's ridiculous to think that you can wait for Edgar. He can meet us at the hospital" said Sig.

"It's not that, my contractions are too far apart" said Samantha.

"You're crazy" said Sig.

"I'm not. The doctor said I can't go in until they are 5 minutes apart or my water has broken" said Samantha.

"You swear you aren't just waiting for Edgar" said Sig suspiciously.

"I swear" said Samantha.

Samantha got up a few hours later took a shower, blow dried her hair and put on a little make up. Next she went downstairs and made herself something to eat. When she was done eating she went upstairs and changed into some yoga pants and a t-shirt. Sig watched warily as she came down the stairs, he noticed she stopped for a moment half way down and then straightened up and continued. By the time she'd reached him he knew something was definitely wrong.

"It's time to go" said Samantha.

"Ok" said Sig.

He immediately sprung into action, he grabbed the bag from the entrance hall and took it into the garage, he placed it in the trunk and returned to the house. When he walked back in he noticed Samantha doubled over at the front door.

"Come on" said Sig. "The cars all packed."

"Ok, just give me a second" said Samantha.

Sig attempted to get her to walk but she was completely immovable. Sig was about to pick her up and carry her to the car when the doorbell rang.

"Oh my God, if this is some kid selling band candy I'm going to kick his nerdy little ass" said Sig to himself.

He wrenched the door open fully expecting to see some neighborhood kid, but instead Edgar pushed passed him into the foyer.

"Antha, are you ok?" asked Edgar rushing to her side.

"Not really. But I'm glad you made it because we have to get to the hospital" she said through gritted teeth.

"Lets go, you can catch up in the car" said Sig.

Edgar carried Samantha to the car and loaded her into the front seat, he climbed into the back and Sig moved into the drivers seat. They sped off to the hospital all knowing they wouldn't return to the house without a baby.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. The story will be complete in a few more chapters and I've already gotten suggestions for the next one.

Samantha tried to give Sig the simplest directions possible to the hospital. She realized that they should have done some sort of a dry run prior to her going into labor, it was hard for her to give directions while going through contractions. Sig and Edgar were both clearly nervous about Samantha giving birth in the car. Every moan or sigh that emanated from her was another cause for alarm. As they pulled up, Sig was about to turn into the emergency room driveway.

"No, there is a special parking lot for Labor and Delivery" said Samantha.

Sig grunted but pulled the car out of the emergency lane and followed the signs to the other side of the building. They pulled in to the circular drive and stopped at the door. Edgar jumped out of the car and opened the door of the car for Samantha. She wedged herself out of the front seat and then reached back to grab her hospital bag.

"Ok, just park the car in any of the spaces in this parking lot and meet us inside" said Samantha.

"Roger" said Sig.

Samantha waddled into the reception area of the hospital. Edgar walked slightly behind her taking in the decor of the hospital. Samantha stopped at the desk and gave her name and handed over her insurance card.

"Oh hi Samantha, your doula arrived a few minutes ago. She's setting up your room. I'll get your a wheelchair and we'll get this labor started" said the staff member.

"Thank you" said Samantha.

Edgar walked up behind her and set down the bag.

"Is everything ok?" he asked.

"Yes, I filled out all the paperwork a month ago and my doula is already here" said Samantha.

"Your what?" asked Edgar.

"My doula, she's going to help me through the labor" explained Samantha.

"I thought I was going to help you" said Edgar sadly.

"Well until a few months ago I expected to do this all by myself, so I got myself a helper" said Samantha. "But now that you're here you can help too."

"What about Sig?" asked Edgar.

"I guess if he wants to help, he can" said Samantha exasperatedly.

"That wasn't really what I meant" said Edgar. "Do you want him in the room?"

"I hadn't really thought about it and frankly I'm a little surprised that you thought about it" said Samantha.

"Well when we were out on the boat I talked to Nick about what he went through when he had his kids" said Edgar. "He said there was a birth plan and that only certain people were allowed in the room. It seemed like a pretty extensive list or demands."

"I guess I birth plan is kind of like that. I have one, it specifically says I want only green m&m's in my room" joked Samantha.

Edgar smiled but it soon became clear he was very nervous. The wheelchair arrived and Samantha took a seat and was wheeled up to her room.

The room looked like a very fancy hotel room to Edgar, the furniture was all wood and the lighting was soft and inviting. Even the hospital bed was draped with mint green sheets and a soft looking blanket. In the corner of the room a woman was setting up a music player, she turned and smiled when Samantha hoisted herself out of the wheelchair.

"Samantha, it's lovely to see you" she said.

"Anna, thank you for being here" replied Samantha before embracing the woman. "Anna, this is Edgar."

"Nice to meet you" said Anna shaking Edgar's hand.

"So what do we do first" said Samantha.

"Well, they will want to do an initial check to see how dilated you are, then a quick ultrasound to check the baby's positioning. So why don't we get you into the gown" suggested Anna.

"Where are the m&m's?" asked Edgar.

Anna looked completely confused and Samantha was laughing hysterically. After the ice was broken Samantha slipped into the bathroom to change while Anna explained the birthing process to Edgar.

Sig walked into the room a few minutes later with a bouquet of flowers for Samantha and a sandwich and drink for Edgar. His eyes were wide and he had a smile from ear to ear. He looked around the room in slight awe at the set up and decoration. Samantha was sitting in the bed talking quietly to the doula and signing some sort of paperwork. She looked up quickly and smiled.

"Hi Antha, I got you something pretty to look at" said Sig. "And Edgar, I got you something to eat, so you don't pass out from lack of food."

"Thank you" said Samantha with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks Sig" said Edgar tearing into the sandwich. "What no chips?"

"You should be happy I got you anything at all" said Sig.

"Whatever" said Edgar around a mouthful of sandwich.

The next moments were a flurry of activity as nurses came in to set up Samantha's monitors and then ask her a few questions.

"Well my dear you are about 5 cm dilated, half way there" said the nurse.

As they detached the monitors from Samantha she struggled to get out of bed. The doula slipped her into a pair of slippers and took her arm carefully supporting her and helping her walk. The pair slowly made their way out of the room.

"Where are they going?" asked Edgar.

"Probably just walking, it's suppose to help with the progression of labor" answered Sig.

"How do you know that?" asked Edgar in surprise.

"Antha has about a million books on the subject, I've been bored at her house so I've glanced at a few of them" admitted Sig.

"Do you have any words of wisdom for me then?" asked Edgar.

"Nope, I think you will be fine" said Sig with a smirk.

"Fine, hold out information from me. I'll figure it out on my own" said Edgar huffily.

Samantha and Anna walked back into the room, interrupting Sig and Edgar's argument. Samantha took a seat on the bouncy ball in the corner and Anna turned on the ipod player in the corner. The sounds of the Beatles filled the room making Samantha smile and bounce on the ball. Edgar and Sig shared a look sharing their complete disbelief at what was going on.

"So how long do you think this is going to take?" asked Sig.

"Why? Do you have somewhere to be" quipped Samantha.

"No, but I thought I'd walk around this fancy hospital and try to find the bar" said Sig.

"It's on the top floor" said Anna with a wink.

"Maybe you can go out and look for celebrities to get autographs" said Samantha.

"Maybe I'll just stay here and watch you suffer" said Sig.

Samantha stuck out her tongue and turned back to Edgar. He got up and walked behind her stroking his fingers down her back and rubbing her lower back through the small opening in the gown.

"Don't pull the gown open" said Samantha.

"Don't worry" said Edgar pulling slightly on one of the ties.

"Nice ass" commented Sig.

Samantha glared at Edgar who quickly retied her gown.

The hours passed and before Edgar and Sig knew it they were holding onto Samantha's legs as she worked to push out the next generation of Hansen. Anna shared her time between Samantha's head where she gave encouragement and the doctor working to deliver the baby. The counts were coming faster as the last stage of active labor was upon them. Every time Sig or Edgar would glance down towards her crotch Samantha would slap their hands.

"Stop looking down there" she said breathlessly.

"It's hard not to" said Sig. "There's a person coming out you, it's something you don't see everyday."

"Get your own woman" said Samantha. "So you can ogle her parts."

Sig sniffed and looked stoically at Samantha's chest, completely avoiding her eyes or anything below the waist. Edgar valiantly held in a snicker, not wanting to get told off. A few minutes later the doctor announced the head was crowning and a few pushes later a pink, healthy and crying baby boy was placed on Samantha's heaving chest. She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the baby's head before Edgar cut the cord. The nurse bustled in and removed the baby to get weighed and measured.

"He's 8 pounds 4 ounces and healthy as a horse" she announced from the other side of the room.

Samantha smiled, tears spilling down her cheeks. Edgar and Sig were also tearing up but both turned away quickly so no one else noticed. It took a few minutes for the nurses to get the baby and Samantha cleaned up, but soon Samantha was holding her new son in her arms with Edgar and Sig on either side.

"He's so small" said Edgar.

"Yeah well, he may seem small but you should try squeezing him out. He seems plenty big to me" said Samantha.

"So what's his name?" asked Sig.

Edgar and Samantha looked at each other for a moment and smiled.

"His name is Erik Jacob Hansen" said Edgar proudly.

"I approve" said Sig quietly.

Samantha just smiled tiredly and Edgar beamed every inch the proud papa.

The next day Samantha and baby Erik were released from the hospital. The first few days at home were a challenge, Edgar and Samantha were both learning how to deal with a new baby while Sig was doing his best to stay out of everyone's way. Norman had called from Seattle saying that he had arrived back from tendering When he heard the news that the baby was born he told Sig to stay put and he'd be on the next plane to LA. The days bled together and when Norman arrived it seemed as if it had been only a heartbeat not a week since the baby was born. Samantha was slowly getting the hang of breast feeding and while lack of sleep was making her a little loopy she was coping. One morning Sig found Edgar surrounded by a smoke filled kitchen, he was wearing pajama pants and a stained t-shirt.

"What's wrong?" asked Sig.

"I'm just trying to make breakfast" said Edgar.

He was clearly frustrated and there was a stack of burnt toast sitting on a plate.

"Maybe I can help" offered Sig.

"Samantha wants some eggs and salmon with toast. She wants to come down and make it herself, but I told her to shower first" said Edgar.

Sig cocked his head, he could hear the faint sounds of a shower running. Norman appeared in the kitchen holding the baby in his arms.

"What's going on? The smoke alarms are going to start going off in a moment" said Norman with a smile.

"Edgar's cooking breakfast" said Sig.

"Maybe he could use some help" said Norman.

Norman passed the baby to Edgar who immediately cradled him to his chest. Sig got to work, he pulled out a new pan then started to throw together a delicious plate of eggs with salmon and began to make some new toast. The plates for everyone were on the table by the time Samantha walked into the kitchen. She was freshly showered and dressed in a soft sweatsuit. The moment she entered the kitchen Erik began to fuss. She reached for him, plucking the child out of Edgar's arms and immediately pulled him to her breast. She sat at one of the chairs and accepted the nursing pillow from Norman, she fed Erik while she ate with one hand.

"That's some pretty impressive multitasking" said Sig.

"Yes, well it seems like whenever I eat he wants to eat" said Samantha.

"You are doing a fantastic job" said Norman encouragingly.

"Thanks" said Samantha quietly.

"Norm and I have some news" said Sig.

"Oh really, what's that?" asked Samantha.

"We are heading back up to Seattle in a few days" said Sig.

"So if you need anything, let us know before we go. We can do the grocery shopping and whatever else you need" said Norman.

"What are you going to do?" asked Samantha to Edgar.

"Stay here, until it's time to go up for King Crab" he replied.

"Oh good, for a second I thought all of your were leaving too" said Samantha relief flooding her voice.

"I won't leave unless you say it's ok" said Edgar.

"Right, if you want him to stay I can start looking for a replacement right now" said Sig.

"I'll let you know, but don't start looking for a replacement just yet" said Samantha with a wink.

Two days later Samantha stood at the bottom of the stairs watching Norman and Sig carry down their small bags and set them by the door. Edgar was taking them to the airport in a few minutes and Samantha wanted to say her goodbyes before Erik woke up from his nap.

"Bye Norman, have a safe trip. I hope you get some downtime before you head up to Dutch" said Samantha giving Norman and hug and kiss.

"Take care of yourself Samantha, don't let Edgar boss you around" said Norman. "What am I saying, you'd never let him do that."

Samantha smiled and then turned to Sig, who grabbed her by the arm and dragged her towards the kitchen. Once they were inside he sat her down on one of the chairs.

"We always go to Norway at Christmas" said Sig.

"Ok" said Samantha. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Good, so get junior a passport" said Sig.

"You want us to go with you?" asked Samantha confusedly.

"Yes, why would I tell you if I didn't want you to go?" asked Sig.

"Because you just thought you'd let me know so I didn't expect Edgar back after the season" said Samantha.

"Antha, you are a part of our family and whether you like it or not you and Erik will be going to Norway with us" said Sig.

"Oh, I'll work on getting Erik his passport" said Samantha her voice still slightly shocked.

"Good, I let the relatives there know that you and the baby are coming. I'm sure some of them will be calling you to help you with the wedding plans" said Sig.

"What wedding plans?" asked Samantha.

"You can get married in Karmony, just like our parents did" said Sig. "It's where our family is from and we've all dreamed of getting married there."

"Sig, are you once again trying to plan my wedding?" asked Samantha. "Because your track record so far is terrible."

"Please, just talk to them when they call. If you don't want to go through with it you don't have to" begged Sig.

"Fine, I'll talk to them" said Samantha. "But that's all I can promise."

Sig smiled and pulled Samantha into a tight hug.

"That's all I can ask for" said Sig.

The month past and before Samantha knew it Edgar was packing to head back to work. She cried for the first few hours after she'd dropped him off at the airport, but she finally pulled herself up and got back to the job or raising their son.

The first phone call from Norway couldn't have happened at a worse time. She'd just gotten Erik out of the bath and was attempting to get him into a dry diaper before he peed all over her, again. She grabbed the phone half expecting to hear Edgar's voice, instead it was a woman's accented voice.

"Hello, is this Antha?" the voice asked.

"Yes, who's this?" answered Samantha.

"My name is Jean, I'm calling from Karmony. Sig gave me this number, I hope I haven't called at a bad time" she said.

"No, not at all" said Samantha looking down at her toweled son and the growing wet spot on the towel where he was clearly peeing.

Cradling Erik in her arm she balanced the phone in the crook of her neck and walked into the nursery. She talked to Jean about innocuous subjects, asking her about Karmony and assuring her that she and Erik would be coming for the holidays. After a few moments Jean got down to the business of planning a wedding. Instead of feeling railroaded Samantha felt Jean's suggestions came from a real desire to give her the perfect wedding. By the time she'd hung up the phone an hour later Erik was fast asleep in his crib and Samantha was very excited about her Norwegian wedding.

"Well, I guess I'm about to become a Hansen" said Samantha to herself.

Jean had given her one job to do before she got to Norway, to get a wedding dress. Samantha walked into her room and studied herself in the mirror. She'd lost the baby weight plus more from breast feeding and not eating as often as she should. Deciding that she should probably do her best to get rid of the little paunch left on her stomach she decided to start an exercise program.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: After a broken laptop, a completely lost story and a bulging battery this last chapter is finally up. Thank you for your patience in waiting. I hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Samantha and baby Erik stood on the dock at the Ballard locks waiting for the Northwestern to arrive in port. Usually the boat was left up in Dutch between King and Opie season however, the boat needed some engine repair done that Sig didn't trust just anyone to do. It had been a hard few months as a single parent and Samantha was looking forward to seeing Edgar. The weekly calls from Norway had done a lot to keep her spirits up and the wedding was completely planned the only thing missing were her and Edgar. The Hansen family had welcomed her and Erik with open arms, they couldn't get enough pictures of the two of them. Samantha had taken to video chatting with them as a way for them to see Erik. She'd travelled up to Edgar's home a few days ago and gone through the process of airing out the house and doing some light cleaning. Erik squirmed in her arms startling Samantha out of her daydreaming, on the horizon was a boat. Erik squealed in her arms and she smiled down at him.

"Do you think that is daddy's boat?" asked Samantha.

Baby Erik gurgled in response. A few minutes later the Northwestern was pulling along side the dock and the lines were cast. Jake jumped off deck and quickly secured the mooring lines. He gave Samantha a quick peck on the cheek before climbing back on board. Edgar appeared on deck and before Samantha had a chance to wave he'd bounded over the side and was standing next to her pulling her and Erik into a hug. He kissed her soundly on the mouth communicating wordlessly how much he'd missed her. The kiss took Samantha's breath away and she had to focus hard just to maintain control of Erik's squirming body.

"Hey little man, have you been taking good care of mommy?" asked Edgar.

He took the squirming baby out of Samantha's arms and cradled it to his chest. Edgar couldn't believe how much his son had grown in the few months he'd been at sea.

"Edgar! You said hello, now get back on the boat and help us get everything secured" yelled Sig's voice over the hailer.

"Roger" yelled Edgar.

He moved to hand Erik back to Samantha but then changed his mind and hopped back onto the deck of the boat. Samantha looked aghast as Edgar went along doing his work with their son in his arms. Samantha wasted no time scrambling down to the deck, her goal was to get her son out of harms way. However, once she was on the deck she was embraced by each crew member in turn and was soon shuttled into the galley.

"You look great Antha" said Nick.

"Thanks" said Samantha distractedly looking for Edgar.

"He's probably up with Sig" said Nick.

"You think so?" asked Samantha.

"Yeah, Edgar brought him right in" said Nick.

Samantha nodded before heading up to the wheelhouse.

Sig sat with Erik balanced on his knee, he was scribbling furiously in a spiral notebook while Erik watched entranced. If the baby so much as sighed Sig would quickly glance down. Samantha watched the scene with a relieved smile, clearly Erik was in good hands.

"You look like a natural" said Samantha.

"Yes, well Edgar dropped him off up here so he could get some work done. I couldn't very well leave him on the floor or something" said Sig.

"He likes watching you write. I think he only looks that captivated when watching the ceiling fan" said Samantha.

"Ceiling fan? You have a hundred dollar mobile in his crib, doesn't he watch that?" asked Sig.

"Nope, it was a complete waste of money. If I was really smart I'd install ceiling fans in every room" said Samantha.

"How have you been holding up?" asked Sig seriously.

Samantha was caught off guard by the deep concern in Sig's voice. She turned to face him and smiled.

"It's a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, but we've survived" she said.

"I wish you lived up here, that way family could help you out" said Sig.

"I like where I live and if I really needed help I could hire someone" said Samantha.

"Ok, just so you know your options" said Sig.

Samantha was about to respond when Jake bounded into the wheelhouse.

"Everything is ship shape" said Jake happily.

"Ok, lets get the hell off this boat" said Sig.

Jake walked over to Sig and deftly plucked Erik off his lap and cradled the baby professionally in his arms.

"Edgar's all done and waiting for you downstairs" said Jake to Samantha.

"Sig, dinner at Edgar's house tonight. I made baked manicotti" said Samantha.

"Sounds delicious" said Sig.

"Are we all invited?" asked Jake.

"Of course, I made enough to feed an army, which should be just enough to feed you guys after a trip" said Samantha with a soft smile.

She took a few more steps towards the stairs when Norman appeared. He glanced at her empty arms then scanned the room his eyes locking on baby Erik in Jake's arms.

"Junior, let me see my nephew" said Norman.

Jake frowned but handed over the baby to Norman, who took him into his arms and gave his tiny nose a kiss.

"He's gotten so big" said Norman.

"Well, he eats all the time" said Samantha.

"Who eats all the time?" asked Matt as he walked into the wheelhouse.

"Erik" answered Norman.

"Yeah well if I got to drink from the tap for all my meals I would eat a lot too" said Matt with a smirk.

"Alright, on that note, lets get the hell off this boat" said Sig standing.

The whole group quickly moved down the stairs, through the galley and off the boat.

Edgar was laying on the floor with his son, he was showing Erik how to roll over. It reminded Samantha of someone trying to show a dog how to do a trick. She was tempted to get the video camera out and try to film but she thought her movement would disrupt the scene, instead she tried to burn every detail into her mind. The knock at the door broke the tableau and Samantha walked to the door to answer it. By the time Sig and Norman entered the room Edgar was sitting on the couch with Erik in his lap, looking the picture of innocence.

"Do you need some help?" asked Sig.

"No, I'm good" replied Samantha.

"Good, I want to spend some quality time with my nephew" said Sig.

"Good luck prying him away from Edgar" said Samantha as she walked back into the kitchen.

Sig walked up to his brother and held out his hands in a wordless request to hold the baby. Edgar eyed him up and down before tentatively giving him Erik. Sig tucked his nephew into the crook of his arm and walked back towards the kitchen.

"Hey, keep him out of there, Samantha's cooking" said Edgar.

"So" said Sig.

"So, give her a break. Every time he sees her he wants her" said Edgar.

This statement stopped Sig in his tracks and he quickly returned to the couch and took a seat next to Edgar.

"So you are giving her a break by making her cook dinner?" asked Sig.

"No, dinner was already basically done. She made it before we even got to port, she's just heating it up in the oven" said Edgar. "I tried to get her to take a nap, but she needed to feed Erik."

Sig was only half listening to what Edgar was saying, he was completely captivated by Erik's tiny hand grabbing onto his fingers.

"He's amazing. A tiny little person" whispered Sig.

Edgar thew a sideways glance at Sig wondering if he realized that he'd said the comment out loud. Norman appeared with a beer and quickly handed one to Sig before picking up Erik out of Sig's arms.

"I hardly think this is a fair trade" said Sig taking a sip of the beer.

"Who said anything about being fair" said Norman.

Erik snuggled against Norman's chest and sleepily began closing his eyes.

"Wow Norm, you are like a walking sleeping pill" said Edgar.

"I feel like I should be highly offended by that, but strangely I'm not" said Norman.

"If he stays asleep for a few minutes then you can try to put him down" suggested Edgar.

"Roger" said Norman as he rocked the baby.

"So how's Samantha? How'd she handle being on her own?" asked Sig.

"She said she did ok. Erik is healthy as a horse and getting great reports from the doctor visits. I wish I'd been there for her though" said Edgar.

"I know. I think of all the work mom did with us" said Sig.

"Yeah, but no one is stabbing anyone with lawn darts yet" said Edgar.

"It was just that one time, I don't know why you can't let it go" said Sig.

"It was a lawn dart! Who throws that at their adorable innocent little brother" said Edgar.

"No one, but I didn't have them as a little brother, I had you" said Sig.

"I think mom would disagree, I was certainly more innocent and sweet than either of you" said Edgar.

"You gave as good as you got. I still have the scar on my chin to prove it" said Sig.

"You deserved to get hit in the face after all the shit you did to me" said Edgar.

"If you guys are done reminiscing about maiming each other, dinner is ready" said Samantha.

Norman took the hint and laid the little one in the pack and play in the back bedroom. When he returned to the dinning room the rest of the crew had arrived and everyone was sitting down to eat.

Dinner was finished and Samantha was surprised there was a morsel of food left in the house. Even though the season was over the guys had eaten everything in about 10 minutes just like they do on the boat. Matt and Nick were in the kitchen doing the dishes while Jake played with Erik. Edgar, Sig and Norman were discussing the upcoming trip to Norway and Samantha was dosing lightly on the sofa. Erik started to fuss and Jake attempted to quiet him but when it became apparent that he wasn't what baby wanted he brought the baby to Samantha.

"Hey Antha, sorry to wake you, but this little guy really wants you" said Jake.

"No problem, it's time for him to eat" said Samantha.

Samantha grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and quickly covered herself and Erik before she began nursing. Even though she was completely covered the smacking sounds of the baby enjoying his meal was heard throughout the room.

"So where did you and Edgar come up with the name?" asked Jake.

"Um, Erik is the name of a famous viking. You know Erik the red or the terrible or something" said Samantha.

"He was a great leader who brought fishing to Norway" said Edgar from the other side of the room.

"Right, well Edgar liked the name and so did I" said Samantha.

"What about the middle name? Is it after someone in particular?" asked Jake.

"Yes" said Samantha.

She broke off from talking and switched Erik to the other breast.

"I knew it. He's named after me isn't he?" said Jake triumphantly.

Samantha looked up at Jake in utter confusion. Her eyes slid over to Edgar who smiled and nodded.

"You guessed it" said Samantha.

Jake smiled from ear to ear and when Samantha asked for a burp cloth he went into the back room to find one. The moment he was out of earshot Norman tapped Edgar on the knee.

"I thought the middle name was after our Uncle Jacob" he said.

"It is, but let the kid have his moment. He doesn't need to know that" said Edgar.

Norman nodded and quietly went to the kitchen for another beer.

Later that night Edgar was laying in bed waiting for Samantha to put Erik down. He'd been staring at the white bag hanging from the closet since he laid down and it was taking all his patience and common sense not to get up and snoop. Samantha appeared in the doorway unnoticed and observed Edgar staring.

"Trying to burn through the plastic with your x-ray vision?" she asked.

"No, but what is it?" asked Edgar.

"My wedding dress" answered Samantha.

"It shouldn't be in here. I'm not suppose to see it before the wedding day" said Edgar in a slight panic.

"You haven't seen it, just the bag. The actual dress looks slightly better" said Samantha.

"Come one Antha, you have to move it. I never wait to open presents, I like to shake them, sneak peaks at them and this is too much of a temptation" said Edgar pleadingly.

"If you are that anxious I'll show it to you right now" said Samantha.

"No! I don't want to bring us bad luck. I want this wedding to be perfect" said Edgar.

"It might not be perfect" said Samantha simply.

"Well it's the only one I'm going to have so I'd like it to be as perfect as possible" said Edgar.

Samantha stopped short of retorting as she realized what Edgar had implied. Instead she leapt into bed with him showering him with kisses. Edgar's hands when around her waist holding her to him. Their lips crushed together and before long clothes were being hastily removed. Edgar was about to pull down Samantha's underwear when she stopped him.

"What's wrong?" he asked breathless.

"Nothing, I just want to warn you that it might not be as pretty as it use to be" said Samantha.

"If it's attached to you, it's gorgeous" said Edgar.

He moved again to lower her panties and once again he was stopped.

"And it might not be as tight as it was before" said Samantha her cheeks flaming red.

"I'll let you know in a minute" said Edgar.

He tore off her panties before she had a chance to protest again. He dropped kisses down her body making sure every nook and cranny was hit before reaching his ultimate goal. He licked her savoring the taste of her, making her thrash wildly on the bed. She was quiet and he glanced up at her noticing that she was biting her lips in an effort to keep from crying out and waking the baby. Edgar slid two fingers into her and was surprised by the tightness he found. Clearly she'd been worried for nothing, now he was worried he would hurt her. After her second orgasm he climbed back up and lined himself up and pushed in. Edgar froze as Samantha's eyes teared slightly at the pain but after a moment she began to move. Taking this as his cue he began to slide slowly in and out of her. It wasn't long before they were both calling out each other's names in completion. Of course one can't scream in a house with a sleeping baby and as soon as Samantha was able to stand she went to check on her crying child. When she returned Edgar was already fast asleep. Slipping in beside him she curved her body around his back and slept.

A few days later found Edgar, Sig, Norman, Samantha and Erik on a plane bound for Norway. Although the idea of an infant on an airplane seemed to be a fairly easy proposition the reality was anything but. Erik had basically been stuck beneath a blanket using Samantha's nipple as a pacifier for the past few hours. At this rate Samantha was fairly certain she wouldn't have a breast left after the flight was over. Sig glanced over at her once again noticing her shifting positions.

"What's wrong?" asked Sig.

"I have to go to the bathroom" said Samantha.

"Oh, I'll hold Erik while you go" offered Sig.

"I'm scared if I take the boob out of his mouth he'll start crying" said Samantha.

"He'll be fine" said Sig. "If he starts to cry we'll walk him around or something."

"Yeah, but if he starts to cry then all my milk is going to let down and I'll end up participating in a one woman wet t-shirt contest" said Samantha.

"So plug your ears and hurry up" said Sig.

Samantha didn't look convinced.

"Or pee in your pants, the choice is yours" said Sig with a huff.

"Fine, I'll be right back" said Samantha.

She detached Erik who immediately sought out his only source of comfort. Samantha left the nursing cover on and handed the baby to Sig. The moment she was out of the row of seats Erik was squalling. Sig could only hope that Samantha would be back soon before the entire place was calling for his head. A flight attendant appeared at Sig's right and asked if he needed anything.

"No, I think I'll be ok" said Sig. "Mommy will be right back, just stay calm."

"I can walk him for you" offered the flight attendant. "Babies sometimes like a chance to look around."

Sig thought for a moment before handing over his nephew to a complete stranger. The flight attendant cuddled Erik into the crook of her arm and started to pace the aisle. In less than ten steps he was quietly looking around the plane gurgling happily. Samantha returned to her seat a few minutes later and found Sig dozing slightly. She looked at Sig, then Norman and finally Edgar before she realized that no one was holding the baby. She smiled in relief believing that he must have fallen asleep and was put back in the carrier on the other side of Edgar. She moved slightly and glanced into the still empty carrier.

"Where is the baby?" she asked, her voice tight and strained.

"The flight attendant is taking him for a walk" said Sig, his eyes still closed.

"He's not a dog" replied Samantha.

"Sit down and enjoy the few minutes without a leech stuck to you" said Sig.

"He's not a leech" said Samantha as she took her seat.

"Don't worry, it's not like she can take him too far, there are only so many rows" said Sig.

"Fine" said Samantha.

In less than a minute she was fast asleep her head resting on Edgar's shoulder. The flight attendant returned Erik just before meal service telling Sig what a wonderful baby he was. Sig settled the now sleeping Erik in his lap and picked up his book. The rest of the flight was as smooth as silk.

Samantha was embraced by one doting aunt after another, her head was spinning with names and how they were related. It was the day of the wedding and although the ceremony wasn't until early evening Jean had planned for all the ladies to help Samantha get ready. So far she'd been fed small croquettes of smoked salmon, a very strong tea to help with fertility and had more than a few shots of Norwegian Vodka. Her hair was pinned up and she wore a family heirloom around her neck. The diamond necklace had been worn by every Karmony girl who married into the Hansen clan. Samantha had demurred at the offer but it was insisted that it made for long lasting marriages, at that explanation she happily donned the necklace. The final item on the to do list was get her into the dress. As she stepped into it and one of the aunts fastened the row of buttons tears prickled in the corners of Samantha's eyes. It was just as she imagined, perfect.

"Oh my dear, you couldn't have picked a more beautiful dress" said Jean.

"It wouldn't look so good if it weren't for all of you" said Samantha.

Someone pressed a hanky into her hand and she quickly dabbed her tears before they ran her make up.

"My dear child, this is a dream for us. A new baby and a new wife" said Jean. "You've brought something to celebrate rather than us trying to fix us 3 boys we only need to find wives for 2. You're helping us with our work load."

"I'm glad I could be of service" said Samantha.

There was a knock at the door and Jean got up to answer it. A rather Hansen looking boy was delivering a large bouquet of flowers and a wrapped gift. Jean walked back into the room handing the box to Samantha and putting the flowers on the vanity.

"Well don't stand there looking shocked, open it" prompted Jean.

Samantha tore the paper revealing a jewelry box, inside was a man's ring.

"It's for Edgar honey" said Jean. "It's a replica of his fathers."

"I don't know what to say" said Samantha. "Thank you for thinking of everything."

"We want it to be perfect" said Jean. "Here in Norway you only get married once."

"It's perfect, everything is perfect." murmured Samantha.

Samantha's smile suddenly faded and she glanced around the room nervously. Jean immediately noticed and rushed to her side.

"What's wrong sweetie?" she asked.

"I don't have anyone to stand for me" said Samantha.

"Well, we thought we'd provide a maid of honor for you. I know it's pretty uncommon for a bride not to know the person standing for her but well this situation is a little different" explained Jean.

"Who is it?" asked Samantha.

"Her name is Clara, she's a friend of the family" said Jean looking around conspiratorially. "Norman, has a bit of a crush on her, so you know we thought we could try to fix them up."

Samantha smiled broadly at Jean's sneakiness. She wondered how Sig, Norman, and Edgar had escaped marriage this long. Suddenly Jean looked concerned.

"Did you have someone that you wanted to ask? I thought we talked about it earlier over the phone, but there was so much I could have forgotten" she said in a rush.

"No, no one. I just keep thinking of things I probably should have done or thought of but haven't. I feel like a bad bride" said Samantha.

"You are a beautiful bride and you've brought the only think important in a marriage" said Jean.

"What's that?" asked Samantha.

"Love" said Jean simply.

When Samantha still looked confused she continued to explain.

"You love Edgar, it's clear to everyone that looks at you two together. You have a son together who is the joy of both your existences. True love is hard to find, but it is easy to see that you two have found it" said Jean.

Sig and Samantha stood at the back of the church. They both occasionally glanced through the small windows looking up the aisle at Edgar and Norman standing together at the front of the altar. Sig glanced at Samantha and sighed. Samantha heard the sigh and turned frowning slightly.

"Are you disappointed that you're not up there? Because I know Edgar wanted to choose you. I hope you aren't feeling left out because you are going to have to walk me down the aisle" said Samantha.

"I'm not upset at all, I'm honored. I'm just wondering how I'm going to give you to him once I get down there" said Sig.

"What do you mean?" asked Samantha.

"You look so beautiful, it's going to be hard to let you go" continued Sig.

Samantha blushed and walked over and brushed a gentle kiss against Sig's cheek. He gathered her into a soft embrace almost cradling her against him. When he released her she was crying.

"What's wrong?" asked Sig. "Please don't have second thoughts, it would crush Edgar."

"I'm not having second thoughts. Can't a girl be a little emotional on the day of her wedding" huffed Samantha.

Sig held his tongue, he pressed a handkerchief into Samantha's hand and watched as she carefully dried her eyes. When she moved to hand it back to him he slowly shook his head.

"Just in case you need it up there" was his quiet reply.

The music began to surge and the doors opened. Every eye in the church was glued to Samantha and Sig. With just a moment of hesitation they began their slow walk down the aisle. Samantha's eyes were locked on Edgar's and for them there was no one else in the room. The murmurs of the audience were lost on her, but Sig heard the comments about how beautiful she was and how lucky Edgar was to have found her. Sig beamed with pride as he handed over Samantha's hand to Edgar announcing to the crowd that if Edgar so much as made her mad he would have to answer to him personally. The whole ceremony seemed to pass in a heartbeat and before Samantha and Edgar knew it they were dancing their first dance as husband and wife.

"How does it feel to be Mrs. Edgar Hansen?" asked Edgar.

"Wonderful. Are you having a nice time?" asked Samantha.

"Best wedding I've ever been to" said Edgar.

"Is this the first one?" asked Samantha warily.

"Oh no, we come here every year and there is always a wedding or a christening. But they all pale in comparison to today" said Edgar his hand caressing her face.

"Speaking of christening, you know your aunt has arranged for Erik to be baptized in a few days" said Samantha.

"Is that ok with you?" asked Edgar.

"It's fine, she explained how important it is to your family" said Samantha.

"They are your family too" said Edgar.

"Right, to my family. I told her I didn't have anything for him to wear and she pulled out this gown" said Samantha.

At hearing the word gown Edgar blushed profusely.

"What's wrong?" asked Samantha.

"Nothing, did she say anything about the gown?" asked Edgar.

"That every male in the Hansen family has worn it for generations" said Samantha.

Suddenly her eyes alit with mirth and she stifled a giggle.

"That means you wore it too, and Sig and Norman. Oh I must see pictures" said Samantha.

"Can we finish our dance before you run off to find blackmail pictures of me in a dress?" asked Edgar.

"Of course" said Samantha.

The night wore on and finally wound to a close with only the brothers and Aunt Jean remaining in the hall. Samantha had her feet up on Edgar's lap and he was rubbing them gently. Erik was nestled in his mothers arms fast asleep. Jean looked anxiously between the brothers and finally huffed and stood up. She plucked a few glasses of champagne from a table and handed them to Edgar and Samantha.

"To the happy couple, may their love run as strong and deep as the Norwegian sea" said Jean.

"Thank you" said Samantha. "It's been the most amazing day."

Edgar said something to Jean in Norwegian making her blush profusely and down the last of her champagne.

"I have one last surprise for you both" said Jean. "A bit of a honeymoon. Now just give Erik to Sig or Norman or me and off you go."

"I can't leave Erik, I don't think there is enough milk in the fridge" said Samantha.

"Don't worry, he's just eaten. We have formula if needed and he will be in very good hands" said Jean. "It's only for a night, just a little time for you and Edgar to celebrate your new marriage."

"Thank you Jean" said Edgar.

It took everyone a few minutes to get everything settled and after Samantha's laundry list of instructions for Sig and Norman regarding the baby she and Edgar were finally out the door. A car was waiting for them to take them to a small cottage on the sea. Edgar carried her over the threshold and set her down. On a small table was a bottle of champagne and a basket of fruit. Samantha walked around the small cottage exploring the rooms. In the bathroom she found a pair of robes and all the toiletries she could ever imagine. In the bedroom there was a beautiful negligee on the bed and a new dress in the closet. There was also a change of clothes for Edgar. Samantha was still standing in the bedroom door when Edgar walked up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.

"I must say I have to agree with you about this dress looking better than the bag it was in" said Edgar.

"Thank you" said Samantha.

"But you know where it would look even better?" asked Edgar.

"Hung up carefully in the closet insuring it won't be stepped on" said Samantha.

"I was thinking in a pile next to the bed, but I suppose your suggestion has merit" said Edgar.

He slid the buttons out of the fastenings and carefully moved the dress off of Samantha's shoulders. She took it out of his hands and quickly hung it up in the closet. She returned to Edgar's side and quickly divested him of his clothing. His clothes weren't hung up on the floor, they were dropped on the floor in a heap. They fell together onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. Edgar plucked at Samantha's nipples and smiled as they squirted him with a little milk.

"Ah, let the water sports begin" said Edgar dipping his head to kiss her.

"You are so ridiculous" said Samantha.

They made love, had sex and fucked all night. When Samantha finally pulled herself out of bed to take a shower she was deliciously sore. As she stood under the soothing spray of the shower she felt Edgar's roughened palms gliding down her back.

"I missed you" he said, his voice roughened from sleep.

"I've only been gone a minute" said Samantha.

"It was a minute too long" said Edgar.

They spent time in the shower leisurely soaping and touching each other until they finally submitted to their passions. The water had run cold by the time they got out. Samantha was shivering slightly as they got dressed.

"You look hot in that dress" said Edgar flipping up the bottom on the skirt.

"Thanks, you look pretty snazzy yourself" said Samantha.

"Are you anxious to get back?" asked Edgar.

"A little, I want to make sure Erik is ok" said Samantha.

"I'm sure he is fine, probably raising hell waiting for his mommy. Lets go back before neither of his uncles want to babysit again" said Edgar.

Edgar and Samantha walked into Jean's house and saw Erik asleep in a small cradle in the living room. Sig was sitting at the kitchen table watching the baby while drinking his coffee. Jean was in the kitchen making a hearty breakfast and Norman was nowhere to be seen.

"You're back" said Sig.

"I win" shouted Jean from the kitchen.

Sig frowned and took a stack of bills from his wallet and set it on the table in front of him.

"What's that for?" asked Edgar.

"She said you'd be back before breakfast and I said after lunch if we ever saw you again at all" replied Sig.

"A mother always comes home" said Jean.

"How was Erik?" asked Samantha.

"He was a dream" said Sig. "Or at least I assume he was, Erik slept in Norman's room."

"Where is Norman?" asked Edgar.

"Sleeping in" said Sig.

"I think we will owe Norman a nice bottle of scotch of something for bearing the brunt of babysitting duties" said Samantha.

"You owe me nothing, he was fine. Only woke up once" said Norman walking into the kitchen. "I'm just sleeping in because that's what I do when I'm not fishing."

"How was your night?" asked Sig with a suggestive eyebrow waggle.

"It was wonderful" said Samantha with a blush.

"Best wedding night of my life" said Edgar.

"I'm glad for both of you, now is there something important you've been meaning to ask me?" prompted Sig.

Samantha and Edgar glanced at each other in confusion before shrugging their collective shoulders.

"You'll have to give us more hints than that" said Edgar.

"I'm sure all the fucking has messed up your brains. So I'll say it a little slower" said Sig.

"Isn't there something you want to ask me?"

"Yes, are you always this weird in the morning or is this something special that happens when you are in Norway?" asked Samantha.

"Are you going to ask me to be Erik's godfather?" asked Sig angrily.

"No, we were going to ask Norman to be godfather and you to be godmother" said Edgar.

Sig bolted out of his chair and bumped the table, the sound of crashing dishes woke Erik up. Samantha sent Sig a withering glare and went to comfort her son.

"Well" prompted Sig.

"Honestly we haven't thought about it" said Edgar.

"I would be honored to do it" said Sig.

"Well as much as I'd like to be bullied into letting you be godfather to my son, I think for my safety I should talk it over with my wife" said Edgar.

"Pussy whipped already" said Sig.

"Jealous" said Edgar.

"You are incredibly lucky, don't mess this up" said Sig suddenly serious.

Edgar stood slightly shocked before nodding once and going off to find Samantha.

The christening was a lavish affair, Sig and Norman both stood as godfathers for little Erik. The spot as godmother was left empty in order to accommodate both brothers. Samantha was happy to have the brothers as positive influences in her son's life. She just hoped they didn't convince him to become a fisherman. Once the trip was over the new family boarded a plane back to Seattle. There were still a few bugs to work out with the living arrangements and when Edgar went back up to Alaska for Opie season Samantha returned to her house in LA. She worked from home while watching her son perform his milestones. It was halfway through the Opie season when she had to make a very unexpected phone call to the boat.

"Who the fuck is calling? I swear this phone is for important business only. If it's not Norman getting calls from fucking Norway, it's Jake calling his flavor of the week or Matt calling who knows" grumbled Sig before picking up the phone. "WHAT!"

"Sig, it's Antha."

"Are you ok?" asked Sig.

"Yes, can I speak to Edgar?" asked Samantha.

"He's on deck working. What's up?" asked Sig.

"Can you put me over the hailer? I have an announcement to make" asked Samantha.

"Tell me what it is first" said Sig.

"I'd rather just tell everyone all at once" said Samantha.

"Fine" said Sig.

After a few minutes of finagling Sig gave her the go ahead.

"Hi everyone, I hope you are working hard for Captain Ahab" began Samantha. "I just want to tell one of you that he will be a father again and the rest of you will become uncles again."

Samantha couldn't hear the response, but the guys on deck were cheering and clapping Edgar on the back. Edgar accepted their congratulations before taking the stairs two at a time to the wheelhouse. Samantha was just about to hang up when she heard Edgar's voice.

"Hey baby, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm doing ok, not too sick this time" said Samantha.

"I can't believe I'm going to be a dad again. What does Erik have to say about all this?" asked Edgar.

"He doesn't really say much of anything right now, but I'm sure he will have an opinion about it later" replied Samantha.

"I'm so happy right now. I'll work twice as hard so I can be home to see you as soon as I can" said Edgar. "I don't want to miss a minute more."

Edgar was true to his word and the season's quota was caught in record time. Sig would take credit for this siting his amazing prospecting skills. Samantha didn't care who was responsible she was just happy to have Edgar with her. Baby Diana was born and Edgar missed the first king crab season since he'd started crabbing. He didn't go back for Opies either, he changed his focus completely. Instead of being part of the day to day fishing he moved to running the business side of the entire Hansen operation. Samantha continued to work as an editor, even winning a few prestigious awards. The Hansen family went back to Norway every Christmas and they participated in many weddings and christening. None were as great as Edgar and Samantha's. And they all lived happily ever after.

The End


End file.
